European Officials Weaponize Intelligence Services To Censor Political Enemies

Senior EU officials and the news media say Russia is spreading disinformation and paying off politicians in Europe to affect the upcoming June elections. “Russian influence scandal rocks EU,” read Politico’s headline yesterday.

"This confirms what we have suspected,” European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová said on Friday. The “Kremlin is using dodgy outlets pretending to be media [and] using money to buy covert influence.”

The news media have described it as a major scandal. “Pro-Kremlin website spread propaganda and ‘paid’ European politicians, top European officials said,” reads the Politico headline. The BBC headline is: “Russian network...