Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Wednesday questioned why the Hillary Clinton campaign didn’t do more to counteract the Russian interference campaign, all the while saying he was unaware that Russians were boosting his campaign.
But in a series of follow-up statements, Sanders refocused his rhetoric on strongly condemning the Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. election and attacked anyone who might try and undermine the special counsel investigation.
“In April and May, it appeared that there were lots of strange things happening attacking Hillary Clinton,” Sanders told “Vermont Edition” host Jane Lindholm on Vermont Public Radio on Wednesday.
He noted that a campaign staffer pointed out in September 2016 that hundreds of people were appearing on Facebook pages supporting Sanders to deride then-candidate Hillary Clinton. The staffer then told the Clinton campaign that he believed Russians were responsible.
However, Sanders said he “did not know Russian bots were promoting my campaign.”
“The real question is what was the Clinton campaign [doing about Russian interference]?,” Sanders said. “They had more information about this than we did.”
“We knew what we knew, when we knew it,” he finished.
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➡️ https://t.co/lK28FIrEZ9— Vermont Public Radio (@vprnet) February 21, 2018
Sanders comments come after special counsel Robert Mueller’s office on Friday indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing Mueller’s probe, announced Friday afternoon that the meddling started in May 2014 and that the Russian groups created posts, ads, and organized events on social media platforms by using names of Americans and other entities.
The ads primarily were primarily opposed to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, but at times were against President Trump. The indictment also said that the indictment does not suggest members of Trump’s campaign were wittingly involved with the scheme.
Mueller is investigating whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin occurred during the 2016 election.
Following his VPR radio interview, Sanders issued more statements on multiple platforms decrying Russian interference.
“Mueller’s indictment provides further evidence that the Russian government interfered in 2016,” Sanders tweeted Wednesday. “It also shows that they tried to turn my supporters against Hillary Clinton in the primary and general election. I unequivocally condemn such interference.”
Mueller’s indictment provides further evidence that the Russian government interfered in 2016. It also shows that they tried to turn my supporters against Hillary Clinton in the primary and general election. I unequivocally condemn such interference.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 22, 2018
“Let there be no confusion about my view. What the Russians did in the 2016 election cycle deserves unconditional condemnation,” Sanders said in a statement Wednesday night. “That includes all of their conduct — whether it was active support of any candidate or active opposition to any candidate or the decision to not go after a candidate as a way of hurting or helping another campaign.”
Sanders also said that the results of Mueller’s investigation must be taken seriously and that the White House and Congress must not interfere with the probe.
Over the weekend, Sanders suggested that former President Barack Obama “maybe” should have done more to notify the public about the Russian’s actions.
Trump has historically called Mueller’s probe a “witch hunt” and, in light of the Russian indictments, has continued to reiterate that “no collusion” ever happened.
