Virginia governor says Russia was helped by 'treasonous' Americans who gave 'these people a roadmap'

Terry McAuliffe.
(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

When former FBI Director James Comey testified before the Senate last week, he emphasized the importance of understanding that the Russian hack of the 2016 presidential election was done "with purpose ... with sophistication ... [and] with overwhelming technical efforts." Virginia's Democratic governor, Terry McAuliffe, has an additional suggestion to add to the list: that they did it with help on the inside.

"Treasonous" Americans aided Russia in "destabilizing our democracy," McAuliffe told Politico's "Off Message" podcast, which will be available Tuesday morning.

"Somebody had to give these people a roadmap," he went on. "So I believe somewhere in this, somebody was directing the Russians on whose names to use, what impact these certain people sending a memo would have on the American electorate. I mean, they just didn't sit over in some cubicle over there somewhere in Moscow and figure this out."

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Listen to McAuliffe's theory in full on "Off Message" on Tuesday, here.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.