That Russian or Russian-backed hackers were involved in stealing Democratic documents in 2016 is something none of the intelligence agencies appear to dispute. There is considerable disagreement between the CIA and other agencies about the precise motivations. Perhaps a less asked and more important question is about its effectiveness.

A lot of people seem to assume that Putin just chose the American government. That is a rather robust claim, given what we know. But the presidential race wasn’t the only one where hacks figured. Today, a story by McClatchy’s James Rosen explores some of the House races where documents from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee were leaked or became an issue. In nearly every case, the Democratic candidates themselves and the DCCC discount the idea that their election loss hinged on the documents.