Sen. Marco Rubio was told at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday that he was the target of Russian propaganda efforts in the 2016 presidential race.
Clinton Watts, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute Program on National Security, said in his testimony before the committee that the “Russian influence system” sought to influence the outcome of the race for The White House starting in late 2015.
“Russia’s overt media outlets and covert trolls sought to sideline opponents on both sides of the political spectrum with adversarial views towards the Kremlin,” Mr. Watts testified.
“They were in full swing during both the Democratic and Republican primary season and may have helped sink the hopes of candidates more hostile toward Russian interests long before the field narrowed,” he said. “Sen. Rubio, in my opinion, you anecdotally suffered from these efforts.”
Mr. Rubio, who also sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, touted his foreign policy credentials during the GOP primary race and emerged in the contest as one of the most vocal critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin, labeling him a “gangster.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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