[Hawk66]

@August It was not just an "anonymous source" about WMD in Iraq. Government services and that includes the intelligence services as well are not immun against the wishes of the administration in rule. A very good example for this is the Able Archer crisis 1983, where the Soviet intelligence services really thought NATO would prepare a first atomic strike against their country.
And I guess who questions that the Bush administration "asked" the intellgence services to give them all possible "proofs" to justify the invasion into Iraq.
I do not think anybody thinks here the Trump administration asks the intelligence service for proof of the intervention of Russia in elections...

I hope you do not really question that Russia tries to manipulate elections in the West else I do not know how many proofs you need...starting with 2016 in your country, going to Brexit and also in my country. It is an open secret that Russia supports the very right and left wing of parties in Germany to destabilize it. Even the foreign secreatary of Russia took part at least once in the game, to fuel resintements against immigrants in Germany by publicly spreading fake news , with the goal of destabilizing and getting rid of chanellor Merkel in the long term, the prime target of the right wing and Russia.

I think that is the key difference during the cold war and now. In Europe and in the US regardless if you were a (moderate) lefty or righty and regardless of the (strong) different political views both sides had - we all shared a common set of values and would have never tolerated that those thing happened without strong consequences.

Unfortunately we have lost the compass...on both sides of the Atlantic. I guess with the death of Senator McCain the most prominent fighter for those values also died....