Tom Ridge, former DHS secretary: ‘Putin is winning’

Bipartisan bickering surrounding the Kremlin’s involvement in last year’s White House race is playing right into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin, former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Thursday.

As Republicans and Democrats address last year’s election from opposite angles, Mr. Ridge told The Hill that the Russian leader is succeeding in his apparent bid to sow chaos within the U.S.

“President Trump talks about winning? Right now, Putin is winning,” said Mr. Ridge, the nation’s first homeland security secretary.

“The rhetoric needs to be toned down,” he added.

Mr. Ridge’s comments came in response to concerns raised as lawmakers lose common ground in probing Russia’s involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential race, The Hill reported.

While the U.S. intelligence community concluded months ago that Mr. Putin directed an influence campaign with the intent of interfering in last year’s White House race, congressional investigations into the matter have become muddled in recent days after Republicans pounced upon allegations concerning the possible “incidental” surveillance of Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign, Mr. Ridge said.

“My friends in the intelligence community tell me that as Vladimir Putin, his forte was destabilization — let’s create chaos, let’s create uncertainty, let’s destabilize the political environment. They have done a wonderful job. If that was their goal, they have done it,” Mr. Ridge told The Hill.

“We see evidence every day. Instead of focusing in on the actor, we’re pointing accusatory fingers at each other about politics. We are the victim of this process to delegitimize our self-governance,” he added.

Mr. Putin himself likely ordered Russian military intelligence to interfere in last year’s election in a bid to disrupt the changes of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, U.S. officials previously concluded, the likes of which is currently under investigation by two congressional committees in addition to the FBI.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, California Republican, triggered outrage among Democrats on Wednesday by running to the White House upon learning that Mr. Trump’s associates may have been subject to federal surveillance prior to his election.

The panel’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, said afterward that his colleague’s behavior epitomizes the need for an independent commission to take up the task of investigating potential ties between Mr. Trump’s associates and Moscow.

“This accusatory finger-pointing has been a major distraction to other important issues — we’ve got a Supreme Court nominee. We’ve got a healthcare bill. There are conversations about tax reform. But look what we are talking about all of the time?” Mr. Ridge told The Hill, referring to Russia.

Mr. Ridge, 71, was appointed by then-President George W. Bush to serve as the nation’s first secretary of homeland security from 2003 through 2005.