For years now, “Russiagate” has served a function for the Democratic Party somewhat like that QAnon has played for the MAGA base. Both are quasi-participatory true-crime sagas that pit their respective chosen idols against evil cabals. Both have kernels of truth, albeit grossly cherry-picked ones: Vladimir Putin did attempt to influence the 2016 election (though of course so did US allies Israel and Saudi Arabia); Democratic Party leaders like Bill Clinton were close with notorious child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, though of course so was Donald Trump.

Perhaps most important, both conspiracies serve similar political functions, allowing each “team” to absolve itself of its failures. Why didn’t Trump lock Hillary Clinton up? Actually, he did, says QAnon — it’s just a secret. Why did Hillary lose against Trump? It wasn’t her fault, says Russiagate — Putin stole the election.

Yet unlike the establishment-reviled but frighteningly popular QAnon conspiracy, the mainstream media and politicians have for years embraced Russiagate, allowing Democratic politicians to scapegoat foreign interference for the United States’ endemic political crises. Most recently, former speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi invoked the bogeyman of Putin to explain the ongoing protests demanding a cease-fire in Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza. In an interview with CNN’s State of the Union this past Sunday, she said, “I think some of these protesters are spontaneous and organic and sincere. Some, I think, are connected to Russia.”