‘Give it a rest’: Social media mocks Senator claiming Russia may be behind new Clinton FBI probe

People on social media shamed US Democratic Senator Tom Ryan, who claimed Russia might actually be behind the reopening of Hillary Clintons’ email probe by the FBI over new leaked messages.

On October 28, FBI director James Comey announced that the Bureau has learned of new emails involving Hillary Clinton’s private email server during her time as a Secretary of State. Comey said the agency will “take appropriate investigative steps” and review the new information. 

In a CNN interview, US Democratic Senator Tim Ryan alleged Russia may be behind the new leak, causing the probe.

“So the question is: Where did these come from? How did they get to the FBI? Is Russia involved in this? We don’t have a clue where this stuff is coming from,” Ryan said.

The allegation, however, did not sit well with some people on social media.

“This wins brain-dead of the day,” one person said.

Others suggested that the American public already had enough of allegations implying Russia’s meddling into US affairs. “It's the Russkies! I think Americans have already had enough of this constant Russian-blaming.”

Another person was surprised to find out the comment was in fact not a sarcastic one. “When I first saw this quote, I laughed, thinking it was a funny and sarcastic comment. Turns out this nut is serious!”

“Oh gee whiz- give it a rest,” another tweet said.

American journalist Glen Greenwald, who published a series of reports on US global surveillance programs based on leaks by Edward Snowden, also weighed in on the discussion.

“Need to do a pool to guess which Dem journalist will be the first to find that Comey visited Moscow as a student or once went on RT,” he joked on Twitter.

It’s not the first time Moscow has been linked to potential interference in US internal affairs, including elections.

On October 7, Washington officially accused the Russian government of having “directed” hack attacks against American officials and institutions, though no evidence backing the allegation was presented to the public, with Moscow calling the accusation “nonsense.”

US chose Russia to play ‘bad guy’ 

Speaking to RT, political scientist and former military officer Brad Cabana said that the Hillary Clinton camp is simply using Russia as a defense tool.

“It's a continuation of the previous defensive position of the Clinton campaign to essentially blame Russia, cast doubts in the minds of the American public,” Cabana said.

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In July, the FBI recommended no charges be brought against Clinton for her handling of classified information as secretary of state, despite stating the Democratic presidential candidate acted in an “extremely careless” way. 

Cabana added that this rhetoric is in fact an attempt to distract public attention from the actual information which has been revealed.

"It's a deflection to cause the American people to focus on the Russian angle as opposed to the content of the emails quite frankly.”

Yet the political analyst noted that there is still “a great thirst” among the public to learn what’s been discovered in the latest batch of Clinton emails.

Fort Russ News Editor-in-Chief Joaquin Flores echoed the thoughts, suggesting that Tim Ryan simply fell for the notorious anti-Russia rhetoric in the US.

“He [Ryan] goes, you know what, it was the Russians. Because this is what he has been told, this is what he’s been hammered into his head. Everything bad about Hillary just aides the Russians,” Flores said

“I do not think he [Ryan] thought that one through. There were no documents.”

However, the absence of any evidence linking Moscow to the FBI decision did not stop Clinton supporter and former Vermont governor Howard Dean from reaching some far-fetched conclusions.

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US no banana republic for Russia to meddle in its election – Putin

“Ironically Comey put himself on the same side as Putin,” Dean wrote on Twitter.

“Russians are the ones who Americans picked to play the bad guys in movies in politics, in this you know, sort of Cold War scenario that’s re-emerging.” Flores told RT.

That view is shared by political analyst Robin Koerner, who is also an author and the publisher of news service Watching America.

"People say what suits them and suits their side before they get the data right. This is what we've been used to in the United States. It's unfortunate, but it is so," he told RT.

Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his own take on the allegation that Moscow is meddling in the US election campaign. 

“Does anyone seriously think that Russia can somehow influence the choice of the American people?” Putin wondered during a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi on October 27.

“Is America some sort of banana republic?” he asked rhetorically.

Putin also noted that the ‘Russian card’ is being played by the American “elite” to brush under the carpet real problems the US is now facing.

“It is far better to distract people's attention to alleged Russian hackers, spies, agents of influence and so on and so forth,” he said.