Here’s what Bill Barr doesn’t want you to remember about Michael Flynn

On October 7, 2016, the intelligence community issued a statement confirming that it was the Russian government that “directed the recent compromises of e-mails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from US political organizations.” Then, on January 6, 2017, they released an assessment of both Russian activities and intentions in their efforts to interfere the 2016 election. Here is their key finding:

We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments.

Upon completion of that assessment, two issues remained: (1) the question of whether the Trump campaign had conspired with the Russian government and (2) how to respond to an adversary’s attempt to interfere in an election. The first question was eventually assigned to special counsel Robert Mueller and, on the second, President Obama ordered sanctions on individuals and entities involved in the interference efforts, shut down two Russian compounds in the U.S., and expelled more than 30 Russian intelligence operatives.