Before the presidential election finally happened, there were a lot of allegations of Russian interference with our internal politics. With each drop of leaks coming from Julian Assange and Wikileaks, the claims grew louder.

Did Russia actually meddle with the presidential elections here in the United States?

Any country, let alone Russia, would stand to gain a great deal from having a favorable politician in the White House. Foreign policy here in the United States has long been in opposition to Russia and even after the Cold War, many within the government refuse to let go of past grievances.

Someone open to diplomacy with Russia would turn the tables and that would benefit them.

In terms of any country meddling with the elections of another, that is also not out of the realm of possibility. The United States should know all about it, as they’ve been a party to regime change numerous time and even played the role of chief instigator.

Did the United States fall victim to foreign influence with the election of Republican businessman Donald Trump?

It’s a complicated question that has become politicized. Our intelligence community has become a political pawn in a partisan argument, similar to how the Federal Bureau of Investigation did. In the end, it really depends on how we define “meddling.”

Did any Russian agent cast a vote in the election for Donald Trump? No.

Did any Russian hacker alter the count of an electronic vote machine? No evidence of that.

Did any Russian official attempt to use their position to pressure American voters? No.

So why do alarmist pundits, journalists, and partisan Democrats all allege that Russia had a hand in the recent presidential election? The answer is simple: Politics.

The allegation stems from the Wikileaks and Guccifer 2.0 leaks, which targeted everyone in the liberal elite from Hillary Clinton herself to the Democratic National Committee. The leaked e-mails and documents range from insignificant details like simple logistics to issues of great importance, such as the rigging of the Democratic Party.

The leaks did have an actual impact, most notably forcing Debbie Wasserman Schultz to step down as Democratic National Committee Chair.

But is leaking materials meddling?

The most disturbing detail of this entire saga is the hostility the Democratic Party is showing to transparency. If the Democrats were concerned about private details of their operation hurting them, they might have tried a more principled approach. What if Wikileaks and Guccifer 2.0 had nothing to leak?

Russia didn’t meddle in the United States presidential general election. At best, they hacked into the private e-mail accounts of numerous Democratic officials and leaked their messages. This isn’t meddling, however, because in the end the voters still made their own decision. If how Democrats really think and operate negatively impacted the Democrats by damaging favor among voters, the fault is their own.

Wikileaks, Guccifer 2.0 or the Russians aren’t to blame for the Democratic Party’s questionable conduct. Try not having bad things to be leaked next election cycle, instead.