(LEX 18)– While people argue over what the Mueller report means for President Donald Trump, one thing is clear, the report confirms that Russia tried to meddle in the election.
One of the companies previously accused of playing a role is investing in a Kentucky mill. The question is, with an election coming up, should Kentucky be worried?
Almost two years ago, people cheered when plans for a new, nearly two billion dollar aluminum mill, were announced for the Ashland area.
Braidy Industries is the company building the mill and right away, Kentucky put 15 million dollars into it. Then, Rusal, a Russian company, invested $200 million in the project.
The partnership was praised by Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin.
“The highest quality aluminum alloys made in the world with the lowest possible carbon footprint and at the lowest price available are going to be made with pride in the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” he said.
However, the deal raised some eyebrows.
Rusal was sanctioned because at one point Oleg Deripaska owned a majority stake in the company. Deripaska was placed under sanctions over alleged links to the Kremlin.
Now that the Mueller report has been released, several leaders say it’s clear Russia tried to meddle in the election. So Kentucky’s Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes worries that the threat still continues.
In a statement, she said that while other states are strengthening election oversight, Kentucky’s lawmakers weakened in this year.
“Russia doesn’t have 50 states to worry about this year, just three: Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi,” she said.
You can read the full statement below:
“In 2016, the United States was attacked, surviving a digital Pearl Harbor. All of our nations’ top intelligence agencies concluded that foreign bad actors sought to undermine our democracy and cause confusion in our elections. While pundits are busy attacking the Mueller Report (“Report”) for what it says or doesn’t say about the President, lost is what the Report actually sought and confirmed, Russia intentionally interfered in our elections and that same threat continues today,” said Secretary Grimes, Kentucky’s Chief Election Official.
“While numerous states realize the threat was not isolated and are strengthening the role of their Secretaries of State, Kentucky’s Republican controlled General Assembly took extreme measures to weaken oversight over our elections and remove the public’s accountability over the State Board of Elections. Not only is this bad policy, but it’s bad timing. Russia doesn’t have 50 states to worry about this year, just 3 — Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Unfortunately, Kentucky’s election policy is going in the wrong direction. Democracy does work, we should be working together to protect it.”
