At this point, it's hard to argue that Russian interference didn't have an impact on the 2016 election. With midterm elections looming and the 2020 race soon approaching, understanding who knew what on the American side and how they failed to act, if nothing else, is a key indicator of how partisan politics always win in Washington.

Greg Miller, a veteran national security reporter at the Washington Post and two-time Pulitzer winner, explained on "Salon Talks" how behind the scenes Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in particular, allowed his partisan interests to overtake any desire to call out Russia's actions.

"We now know that Russia, through its propaganda network, was reaching more than a 100 million Americans on Facebook alone. And this an election decided by fewer than 80,000 voters," Miller said.

And, Miller goes on to say, when the Obama administration did inform Republican leadership of how Russia was spreading propaganda to American voters, "McConnell not only says he will not go along with calling out Putin, but then warns, I am however prepared to call you out and and call out Obama if you try to to do this."

Miller's painstakingly researched new book, "The Apprentice: Trump, Russia and the Subversion of American Democracy," goes into great detail explaining the behind-the-scenes arguments in Washington around how to handle Russia's growing influence, including a shouting match with CIA director John Brennan.

"When we look back on this period in history, obviously everybody's going to focus on Trump and his conduct and what he's done and the implications of that for the United States, our system of government for institutions like the FBI and the CIA. But, I mean, he's been abetted in certain, in key instances, by allies who have their own partisan agendas. And McConnell's one."

Watch SalonTV's full interview with Miller to hear a breakdown of what we know so far about the Trump-Russia relationship.