--- title: John McCain: Russia Election Hacking a Threat to Democracy description: Arizona Senator John McCain said the Russian hacking during the 2016 election threatens to "destroy democracy" canonical: https://time.com/4605818/john-mccain-donald-trump-russia/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-18T17:53:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:48:15.945Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'They May Destroy Democracy.' John McCain Warns of Russian Election Hack og:description: Donald Trump continues to deny intelligence findings that Russia was behind it og:url: https://time.com/4605818/john-mccain-donald-trump-russia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e604b66316b07eb/6988b357ab6d7740c36ac4b2/john-mccain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: U.S. Senator McCain arrives on a visit at a migrant center near the village of Adasevci og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'They May Destroy Democracy.' John McCain Warns of Russian Election Hack twitter:description: Donald Trump continues to deny intelligence findings that Russia was behind it twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e604b66316b07eb/6988b357ab6d7740c36ac4b2/john-mccain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'They May Destroy Democracy.' John McCain Warns of Russian Election Hack Aftermath > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Dec 18, 2016 5:53 PM UTC  U.S. Senator John McCain arrives on a visit at a migrant center near the village of Adasevci, Serbia Feb. 12, 2016. U.S. Senator John McCain arrives on a visit at a migrant center near the village of Adasevci, Serbia Feb. 12, 2016. Marko Djurica—REUTERS by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Dec 18, 2016 5:53 PM UTC Arizona Senator John McCain said Sunday that [Russian hacking](http://time.com/4604505/white-house-putin-dnc-hacking-election-russia-trump/) during the 2016 election threatens to “destroy democracy.” The Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee pushed for a special select committee to investigate the CIA’s finding that [Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee](http://time.com/4600177/election-hack-russia-hillary-clinton-donald-trump/) and a top [Hillary Clinton](http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-hillary-clinton-runner-up/?xid=homepage&pcd=hp-magmod) aide in an effort to help elect [Donald Trump](http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-donald-trump-choice/?xid=homepage&pcd=hp-magmod) as President. “We need a select committee,” McCain said on [CNN’s _State of the Union_](http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/18/politics/john-mccain-russia-hacking/index.html). “We need to get to the bottom of this. We need to find out exactly what was done and what the implications of the attacks were, especially if they had an effect on our election.” McCain mocked President Obama’s news conference on Friday, in which Obama said he told Russian President Vladimir Putin to “[cut it out](http://time.com/4605260/president-obama-russia-hacking-warn-press-conference/).” “There’s no doubt they were interfering and no doubt it was a cyberattack. The question now is how much and what damage and what should the United States of America do? And so far, we’ve been totally paralyzed,” McCain said. “I’m sure that when Vladimir Putin was told quote ‘cut it out’ unquote, I’m sure that Vladimir Putin immediately stopped all cyberactivities. The truth is, they are hacking every single day.” McCain’s calls for investigation by a special committee into the cyberattacks have been rejected by House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who want Senate and House committees already in existence to conduct the investigation. Trump, meanwhile, has not accepted the CIA’s finding, which was [backed](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-blames-putins-personal-grudge-against-her-for-election-interference/2016/12/16/12f36250-c3be-11e6-8422-eac61c0ef74d%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.c982bc11294b) by the FBI and the Director of National Intelligence on Friday. Reince Priebus, Trump’s incoming White House Chief of Staff, [said](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/priebus-donald-trump-russia-hacking-232783) on _Fox News Sunday_ that the President-elect would acknowledge the conclusion when intelligence agencies release a report. “I think he would accept the conclusion if these intelligence professionals would get together, put out a report and show the American people they’re actually on the same page as opposed to third parties through the Washington _Post,_” Priebus said. “I think that these guys should be straight with the American people and come out and say it. I don’t think they’re been clear about it.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4605818/john-mccain-donald-trump-russia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4605818/john-mccain-donald-trump-russia/"},"headline":"'They May Destroy Democracy.' 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