Ahead of Comey Testimony, Russia Expert Talks Status, Scope of Investigation

“The Comey testimony clearly says that the FBI was concerned about…Russian meddling in the elections.”

J. Carlisle Larsen

Today’s the day former FBI Director James Comey will testify in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Comey will be giving his side of the story about being abruptly fired in the middle of an investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential collusion with the Trump campaign. 

As the story continues to develop, there are still more questions than answers about the broader issue of Russian tampering in the U.S. electoral process. 

Aaron Retish is a history professor at Wayne State University with a specialization in Soviet and Russian history. 

He speaks with Detroit Today host Stephen Henderson about what Russians think about the nature of elections and the scope of the investigation. 

“The Russian public and the Russian government take it, I think, with a little bit of humor,” says Retish. “There’s also a little bit of cynicism that the Russian public has had about elections since the late Soviet era.” 

The conversation also addresses former Director Comey’s written statement which was released ahead of his testimony. 

“The Comey testimony clearly says that the FBI was concerned about…Russian meddling in the elections,” Retish says. “It’s a pretty wide and, I would say, damning opening salvo.”

Click on the audio player above for the full conversation. 

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