Tom Cotton

The sitting president of the United States is under investigation for collusion with Russian interference in the 2016 elections. The president’s son-in-law, a top adviser, reportedly asked for a secure back channel to talk to Russia that would evade the notice of U.S. intelligence. His regime has sought to lift sanctions on Russia and is considering returning two compounds to Russia that then-President Obama closed because they were used for espionage. And Republican Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is lathered up over how Obama was not aggressive enough against Russian espionage.

Cotton has released a statement on “reports that the United States missed opportunities to crack down on Russian espionage during the Obama administration.” Specifically, “These revelations are another example of how the Obama administration coddled the Putin regime for eight years.” Cotton did not release statements on, for instance, the firing of James Comey, the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate Trump-Russia ties, Jeff Sessions’ failure during his confirmation process that he’d met with the Russian ambassador during the campaign, or a host of other issues relating to Trump-Russia. But a report that the Obama administration should have practiced more aggressive counterintelligence? Outrage!

Cotton’s statement ends by calling the report “yet another reminder of the need for the State Department to enforce these rules aggressively.” No doubt any minute now Cotton’s going to be out with a fiery denunciation of Trump’s desire to let Russia reopen those two compounds Obama closed.