Newspaper calls Russia probe 'well founded,' suggests Dems' voter law needed to thwart Trump

In an editorial Sunday, The Washington Post called the widely discredited Russia collusion probe "well founded" and suggested Democrat legislation to further federalize elections was needed to thwart President Donald Trump and other "bad actors."

The editorial came a day after Trump filled the grand stands at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and showed strong popularity in a new poll in the nation's first-to-vote caucuses for 2024.

The Post wrote the editorial after Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee issued a report last week accusing the 45th president of trying to pressure the Justice Department (DOJ) to overturn the 2020 election results. The Post editorial led with a quote from the report in which Trump purportedly acknowledged that then-Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen wasn't "going to do anything to overturn the election."

"Mr. Trump learned how to run out the clock by gaming the judicial system; courts must not let that happen again," the newspaper claimed, although no federal agency tried to overturn the election. "
Most urgently, Congress must reinforce elements of the nation’s democratic infrastructure vulnerable to exploitation by bad actors such as Mr. Trump. It should revamp the ancient Electoral Count Act to limit partisan interference in presidential vote tallying, and it should impose federal election standards that insulate state election officials from political pressure."

It added, "Republicans who still respect the Constitution should be willing to join in this effort.

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The newspaper surmised Republicans distrust DOJ because of its conduct in the Russia collusion probe.

"Leaving aside the fact that the Russia probe was a well-founded and legitimate counterintelligence investigation, Mr. Trump, in this case, was not exercising reasonable skepticism; he was trying to hold on to power against the wishes of the American people," the newspaper argued.

The Russia probe has been widely discredited by multiple investigations by DOJ's inspector general, Congress and Special Prosecutor John Durham which found key aspects of the FBI investigation were based on Russian disinformation, false allegations circulated by Hillary Clinton and a fabricated document altered by an FBI lawyer.