It’s become tiresome. 

Every time Democrats disapprove of something happening, they shout, “Russia, Russia, Russia!”

Democrats stampeded to cameras and microphones after Hunter Biden spent about an hour testifying before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. They said not only is there nothing to see here, but once again, their favorite villain, Russia, is behind a Republican plot to impeach President Biden.

“If this impeachment inquiry continues, then Chairman Comer and Chairman Jordan are working with Russia,” exclaimed Rep. Dan Goldman (NY-10).

Even better was this gem from Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX-30): “They are peddling Russian lies. Basically, the Republicans have become synonymous for Russians. We’re talking about someone who is an actual citizen – just a regular schmegular citizen.”

Hunter Biden is an actual citizen, rationalizes Ms. Crockett, “just a regular schmegular citizen.” You can’t make this stuff up.

Another reason Democrats think the impeachment inquiry should end is because one of the key witnesses, Alexander Smirnov, who claimed that bribes were paid to the Bidens by the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, has been arrested and charged with making false statements to the FBI about the Bidens.

Reports are that Smirnov was a confidential human source since 2010 and spoke with his handler nearly every day. The FBI initially cited protecting a credible confidential human source as the reason for not releasing to the Oversight Committee an unclassified FD-1023 that contained information relevant to the Biden bribery case.

The FBI kept Smirnov as a source for over a decade, presumably because he provided valuable intelligence. Then, he gave them information about the Bidens and was arrested for making false statements. 

See how that works?

Lying to the FBI is a serious crime. Sometimes.

Another longtime FBI informant, a British intelligence officer, Christoper Steele, also provided false information to the FBI. Steele provided the infamous dossier on Donald Trump that contained false accusations linking him to Russia.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign financed the Steele Dossier. Steele worked for both the FBI and the Clinton campaign. The FBI knew the dossier’s origins and that it was mostly false. They ignored the conflict of interest and the dubious information.

Nonetheless, the accusations in the dossier became the basis for issuing surveillance warrants on Trump aide Carter Page. These are the origins of Operation Crossfire Hurricane — the investigation to explore coordination between the Russian government and Trump’s presidential campaign.

Steele was never charged with lying to the FBI.

Apparently, some people can lie to the FBI. Maybe it depends on who you are lying about or whose Department of Justice is making the decision.

The Steele Dossier and Operation Crossfire Hurricane led to a two-plus-year media obsession with Russia, Russia, Russia! 

A Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, was appointed. Mueller prosecuted several convictions for process crimes (crimes created only because of the investigation) and for events that had nothing to do with the 2016 election. Mueller’s investigation did not yield a single conviction for anybody coordinating or colluding with Russia. The report did not find any conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia – a fact that many Trump haters still do not accept. 

Newspapers won Pulitzer Prizes for their coverage of Russian collusion. They have never returned those awards or apologized for their non-stop breathless coverage of the Russia Hoax.

After the Russia Hoax, Democrats should be too embarrassed to go back to the trough again, but they aren’t. Russia is a well that never runs dry. 

When the Hunter Biden laptop story broke during the 2020 campaign, it threatened Biden’s chances. Biden answered the charges during a debate with Trump. He referred to a letter signed by 50 former national security officers stating that the laptop could be Russian misinformation. The way Biden told it, there was no doubt that the laptop news was anything but Russian misinformation.

The laptop turned out to be authentic. Furthermore, the Biden campaign circulated the letter the former national security officials signed. The media has never held Biden responsible for calling the laptop Russian misinformation.

Democrats continue to play the Russian misinformation card today.

A few weeks ago, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki.” After a riff on Putin, Psaki asked what she thinks he has on Trump. Pelosi responded, “I’m not sure what he has on him, but I think it’s probably financial.”

History suggests something different.

In 2008, when George W. Bush was president, two Russian-backed regions of Georgia (South Ossetia and Abkhazia) declared their independence. There was a short war in August 2008. Russia has maintained direct control over both regions since.

In 2014, with Barack Obama in the White House, Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, which was part of Ukraine. The Crimean peninsula is called The Republic of Crimea but is a republic of Russia.

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine began two years ago with Joe Biden in office.

Oddly, among the four most recent presidents during which time Putin has remained in power, the only administration where he has not taken territory is the Trump administration.

If Trump is Putin’s puppet, why has he taken territory during three other administrations, both Republican and Democrat, before and after Trump, but not while his “puppet” was in office? Maybe it’s Trump who has something on Putin.

Since Donald Trump has become a political figure, Democrats and the media have repeatedly tried to tie Republicans to Russia. It’s become comical. Every time a Democrat or mainstream media member says “Russia,” a laugh track should go off in the background. Maybe Boris Badenov, the world’s greatest nogoodnik, should appear.

Andy Bloom is President of Andy Bloom Communications. He specializes in media training and political communications. He has programmed legendary stations including WIP, WPHT, WYSP/Philadelphia, KLSX, Los Angeles, and WCCO Minneapolis. He was Vice President of Programming for Emmis International, Greater Media Inc., and Coleman Research. Andy also served as communications director for Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio). He can be reached by email at andy@andybloom.com or you can follow him on Twitter @AndyBloomCom.