In his upcoming book, entitled “The Restless Wave,” McCain has touched upon the allegations that the Kremlin could have so-called “kompromat” [compromising material] on President Donald Trump, as well as Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election in the United States – an accusation, which Moscow has consistently repudiated.
“I’m of the opinion that unless [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is made to regret his decision he will return to the scene of the crime again and again,” McCain wrote, adding that in order “to make Putin deeply regret his assault on the foundation of our democracy – free and fair elections – we should seriously consider retaliating with the kinds of weapons he used. We have cyber capabilities too. They should be used to expose the epic scale of his regime’s corruption or to embarrass [Putin] in other ways.”
Senator McCain went on to call on the United States to take an offensive stance in the information war with Russia, being very critical of Trump’s perception of Moscow as a potential ally.
“[Putin] never was, he is not now and never will be our partner. He sees evidence of his success every day in our polarization and gridlock,” he elaborated.
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In the meantime, he wrote that he was quite skeptical that the sitting president or his aides had colluded with the Kremlin during the 2016 election.
“And I certainly did not want to believe that the Kremlin could have acquired kompromat on an American President.”
McCain has consistently hurled obscenities at President Putin, coming up with such epithets as “butcher,” a “thug,” a “killer,” a “KGB agent,” an “evil man,” and even called him a greater threat to the United States than Daesh*.
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In March, the senator lashed out at President Trump for a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, in which POTUS congratulated Putin following his election win. Previously, McCain had accused the Trump Administration of “playing right into the hands of Vladimir Putin.”
*Daesh, also known as ISIL/ISIS/IS, is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries.