"The assertion that Russia conducted a widespread campaign to destroy our democracy—as absurd as it is unsubstantiated—has always been the more dangerous of the Russiagate lies. It was only for this reason that the second was even necessary. When Hillary Clinton unexpectedly lost an election to the most repugnant candidate in U.S. history, those in charge of ensuring the smooth continuance of the status quo needed to make sure Trump would toe the line. Having said he wanted good relations with Russia and being a loose cannon, they couldn’t take chances on having a global agenda being subverted by an elected official. Thus was born the assertion that Russia had “hacked” the 2016 election (“hacked” being a catch-all and evolving term) and the insinuations that Trump was actively involved."