I have never met Jerome Donnelly, but I have read many of his “My Turn”’ published in the Recorder. I have come to respect Professor Donnelly’s views, which are usually well thought out and documented. I am, however, troubled by a couple of things in his column from Dec. 20.
I do agree that there is a distinction between fake news and hacking, but I am troubled by his lack of concern of possible Russian hacking. He states: “Russian or not, the hacking of Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails exposed genuine, if private, information. Not fake news. CIA allegations of Russian hacking are a way of shooting the messenger and drawing attention away from emails showing how the DNC boosted Clinton, marginalized Bernie Sanders.”
I believe we should be alarmed that Russia hacked the DNC and private email servers. President-elect Donald Trump has made several appoints with strong ties to Russia. Indeed, Trump himself might very well have business interest in Russia. If only Trump would release his IRS information, then we would know for sure. I feel it is high time that Congress and we citizens know what the hell is going on with the Russian connection.
I am also troubled by Professor Donnelly’s lack of concern regarding private emails being hacked. He concludes his My Turn by stating that “the American public had a right to know” what was in the hacked emails. John Podesta was a private citizen when his emails were hacked. If the American public has a right to know the contents of Mr. Podesta’s email, then the same public has a right to know the contents of my email. Or Jerome Donnelly’s email. Or the editorial board of The Recorder’s email. That is how things work in a police state. We should all be concerned about giving up our rights to privacy. We need to be vigilant and do what we can to protect our constitution and our freedoms. If not us, who?
Richard Wedegartner
Greenfield