[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 51 (Thursday, March 23, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1965-S1967]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



     Russia and Calling for the Appointment of a Special Prosecutor

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, sovereign nations across the globe are 
brought together by different unifying forces. It can be a shared 
heritage, language, religion, or outside historical forces that led to 
borders drawn decades or centuries ago.
  As a nation, we are unique. We are diverse in every sense of the 
word, but even in these polarizing times, we are overwhelmingly 
unified. We are unified by our belief in democracy, free enterprise, 
and economic opportunity. We are all entrusted in nurturing the ideas 
enshrined in our Constitution--the idea that our system of democratic 
government enables us to work toward a more perfect union. At a time 
when the promise of democracy is receding for far too many around the 
world, we must do everything we can to uphold our country's free and 
fair elections, the foundation of our democracy.
  Our elections should serve as a global benchmark for the peaceful 
transition of power. As President Reagan said, we must be ``the shining 
city upon the hill,'' and we must lead by example. Our elections 
require a strong and steady commitment from our newly naturalized 
citizens; from families whose families fought in the Revolutionary War; 
from volunteers who cover 16-hour shifts to keep polling locations 
open; from country, city, and township clerks.
  The preservation of free and fair elections requires a strong 
commitment from our highest elected official in the land. As Americans, 
we look to the President of the United States to safeguard our 
democracy from foreign adversaries.
  When we are presented with clear and mounting evidence that the 
Russian Government, at the personal discretion of Russian President 
Vladimir Putin, orchestrated a campaign to undermine this most 
fundamental institution and interfere in our election, we should expect 
nothing less than a clear and forceful response from the White House 
that this kind of behavior is simply unacceptable. Unfortunately, what 
we have seen from President Trump and the White House so far amounts to 
little more than confusion, evasion, and a whole lot of smoke.
  President Trump has spoken time and again about wanting to build 
closer ties with Russia. On the campaign trail, he frequently fawned 
over Putin's strength as a leader. In 2013, he asked his Twitter 
followers, ``Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe 
Pageant in November in Moscow--if so, will he become my new best 
friend?''
  While I don't believe that Putin attended the pageant, the nature of 
the Putin-Trump relationship remains an open question. It confuses me 
and quite frankly alarms me that President Trump speaks so fondly of a 
man who brutally cracks down on his political opponents and journalists 
at home while stirring up conflict and aggressions abroad.
  Make no mistake, Vladimir Putin is no friend of the United States or 
of the American people. Our Nation's intelligence agencies agree with 
high confidence that his government orchestrated a campaign to 
undermine the integrity of our recent election, and Putin has sought at 
every turn to destabilize the international order that has kept the 
American people and our allies secure for decades.
  Russia's interference in our election was not an isolated incident. 
It is part of a broader effort to undermine the NATO alliance and 
weaken western democracies. I heard from our French and German allies 
at the Munich Security Conference last month about their concerns that 
Russia will continue to engage in disinformation campaigns in European 
elections. As we aspire to be the free-market driven, democratic ``city 
upon a hill,'' Putin's government works to sow chaos globally in an 
effort to further consolidate power in his nationalist, self-enriching 
regime.
  These attempts to destabilize Russia's neighbors and rivals are not 
limited to cyber space and computer code. These provocations involve 
military aircraft, ships, nuclear capable missiles, heavy artillery, 
drones, and efforts to redraw international borders.
  As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I believe that 
the highest duty of Congress is to keep Americans safe. Russia's 
dangerous and unprofessional military provocations not only place 
American servicemembers and NATO allies at risk, they endanger civilian 
lives and raise the specter of escalating regional conflict.
  Just last month, Russian aircraft flew within a few hundred feet of 
the USS Porter in international waters in a dangerous mock attack--an 
action the ship's captain called out as ``unsafe and unprofessional.''
  Last summer, while on a congressional delegation to meet with NATO 
allies, I heard directly from Estonian leaders about Russia's blatant 
disregard for their sovereignty. Russian forces kidnapped a border 
guard in Estonian territory and sentenced him behind closed doors to 15 
years in prison, in what a top European Union official called ``a clear 
violation of international law.''
  We have seen the Russians fly reconnaissance and fighter jets in 
international airspace, with their transponders switched off in order 
to avoid detection--at one point, nearly colliding in midair with a 
passenger airplane. NATO has been forced to scramble jets almost 800 
times--let me repeat

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that: 800 times--in 2016 alone, just to respond to Russia's 
encroachments on NATO airspace.
  As the President speaks glowingly about Putin, Mr. Putin returns the 
favor by deploying a dangerous new cruise missile, in clear violation 
of the Reagan-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. 
Simultaneously, a Russian spy ship has been spotted lurking off the 
U.S. coast, trying to gather intelligence information near the Navy's 
primary east coast submarine base.
  We are also seeing Russia undertake the largest military buildup in 
the Arctic since the end of the Cold War and at a pace faster than we 
ever, ever saw during the Soviet era.
  Russia is reopening defunct military outposts and building new ones 
all across the polar region. There are 13 new Russian airfields that 
are scheduled to open by the end of this year. The Russian military 
recently staged an exercise in the Arctic region with well over 12,000 
troops.
  As the Russians build up their forces in the Arctic, the United 
States is falling behind. Our principal maritime force in the Arctic is 
the U.S. Coast Guard, but they have only one heavy icebreaker, the 
Polar Star, that is capable of keeping Arctic shipping lanes open or 
conducting search and rescue missions year-round. A new icebreaker to 
replace the Polar Star is still a few years away.
  In contrast, the Russians have over 40 icebreakers in their fleet, 
many of them nuclear, with plans for three new icebreakers underway. At 
a time when we should be investing in our Arctic capabilities, the 
Trump administration has been considering deep cuts to the Coast 
Guard's budget.
  Russia's expansionist activities and military probing are not 
occurring in a vacuum. The numerous threats and provocations that I 
have outlined occur as Russia continues to wage war in eastern Ukraine 
in the wake of their illegal annexation of Crimea, destabilizing the 
opportunity for the Ukrainian people to chart their own political and 
economic destiny. There are 10,000 people who have lost their lives in 
this conflict as a direct result of Russian aggression.
  Last year, as I traveled with my Senate colleagues to Estonia, the 
Czech Republic, and Ukraine, I learned firsthand about the efforts in 
these countries to strengthen their civil institutions and root out 
corruption, build lasting partnerships, and stand up to Russian 
provocations. While they are doing their part, they continue to look to 
the United States for global leadership.
  This year, U.S. troops deployed to Eastern Europe to demonstrate our 
ironclad commitment to our NATO allies, where they were welcomed with 
open arms. We are working with our partners in Iceland to enhance their 
capabilities to detect and respond to a recent increase in Russian 
submarine patrols.
  I am also proud to stand with the airmen of the 127th Wing of the 
Michigan Air National Guard, who deployed from my State to build on 
their long record of successful cooperation with our partners in 
Latvia.
  When the Kremlin is threatening our allies, buzzing our Navy 
warships, and meddling in foreign elections, now is not the time to 
call into question the commitment or the resolve of the United States 
of America.
  Vladimir Putin's world view is shaped by his time in the KGB during 
the Cold War. He is committed to projecting Russian strength, both at 
home and abroad, through intimidation and aggression. Strength is what 
he respects. If Putin's provocations are not met with a strong 
response, they will continue and likely escalate, putting American 
interests and the American people at risk.
  Top officials in the Trump administration have been dispatched to 
crisscross Europe and reassure the world of our commitments to global 
security. I joined Vice President Pence and Secretary Mattis in Germany 
last month for the annual Munich Security Conference.
  They spoke of America's commitment to NATO and the international 
order, which was built from the ashes of World War II, in an apparent 
attempt to reassure our nervous allies, but our allies are not trying 
to understand the aims of the Mattis administration or the Pence 
administration. They are trying to determine if President Trump will 
stand behind NATO and the institutions that have served as a 
counterweight to Russian aggression for decades.
  The American people are also watching the White House, and they 
deserve to know that those who serve at the highest levels of 
government will always have America's best interests at heart. But 
every week we are faced with mounting evidence that the Trump 
administration and the Trump campaign have ties to Russia and are 
working to cover up their interactions with Russian officials.
  Earlier this week, in testimony before the House Intelligence 
Committee, FBI Director Comey announced that the FBI was 
``investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated 
with the Trump campaign and the Russian Government and whether there 
was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts.'' This 
bears repeating. The FBI Director has confirmed that there is an active 
investigation into coordination between a Presidential campaign and a 
foreign adversary. This is just the latest development in a long string 
of disturbing revelations about President Trump's associates.
  Ousted campaign chairman Paul Manafort has a deep web of business and 
political connections to Russian interests. Other campaign advisers 
have backed off previous claims that they never spoke with Russian 
officials. In fact, the coverup of these interactions has already 
resulted in the first resignation from the Trump administration.

  Not long after President Obama imposed sanctions on the Russian 
officials and military intelligence agencies that were responsible for 
interfering in our election, former National Security Advisor Michael 
Flynn had a secret, off-the-record discussion with Russian Ambassador 
Kislyak, in which he discussed lifting these sanctions under the 
incoming Trump administration.
  Top officials at the Justice Department clearly warned the White 
House that Mr. Flynn was vulnerable to Russian blackmail. He resigned 
only after it became clear that he misled the public and the Vice 
President about the substance of these off-the-record conversations.
  But it doesn't just end there.
  The Attorney General, at best, misled the Judiciary Committee during 
his confirmation hearings about his record of contact with Russian 
officials. He testified under oath that he ``did not have 
communications with the Russians'' during the campaign. When it became 
clear that he had actually met with the Russian Ambassador at least 
twice last year, including in a one-on-one meeting in the final weeks 
of the campaign, he was forced to recuse himself from the Justice 
Department's criminal investigation into this very, very serious issue.
  It has been my experience that, when people are caught covering up 
their meetings and contacts with someone, they usually have something 
to hide. If you have nothing to hide, there is no reason for a coverup.
  The serious national security implications of the Trump 
administration's potential ties with Russia cannot be overstated. This 
is a time when we need to make clear that Russian aggression will not 
stand. Instead, the President has attempted to distract the public 
through unsubstantiated allegations about the wiretapping of Trump 
Tower--an allegation that has been refuted by FBI Director Comey and 
others. President Trump continues to double down by calling into 
question the motives of those who want assurances about integrity in 
our elections.
  Let me be clear. This is not about partisan politics. When there is 
so much smoke, there is probably some fire somewhere. If another 
country is infiltrating our government and political institutions or if 
Vladimir Putin has favors to cash in from officials at the highest 
levels of government, that is a serious problem.
  Russia has endangered our servicemembers, threatened our allies, 
illegally annexed Crimea, engaged in war crimes in their bombing of 
Aleppo, and actively worked to undermine our democracy. These 
revelations are only adding more smoke to the Russia fire, and it is 
clear we need a special prosecutor to investigate.

[[Page S1967]]

  The American people expect this investigation to be free from any 
political interference or influence or bias. We need someone to cut 
through the smoke and clear the air. An independent special prosecutor 
should be appointed to examine Russia's campaign to interfere in our 
election as well as any association or coordination between the Trump 
campaign and Russia.
  I also believe that the time has come to create an independent, 
nonpartisan commission to fully investigate Russian interference. 
Earlier today, I cosponsored legislation introduced by Senator Cardin 
that would create such a commission and provide it with the necessary 
subpoena power to get the answers that the American people clearly 
deserve.
  This is not about Democrats or Republicans or about relitigating the 
2016 election. This is about our national security. This commission, 
modeled after the 9/11 Commission, would provide a comprehensive report 
on what occurred last year and make recommendations as to how we can 
best defend the integrity of future elections.
  This is about how we move forward together. This is about how we 
maintain the independence of our government from foreign influence and 
instill faith in Americans that the White House is truly working for 
them.
  This is about moving past months of coverups and finally 
extinguishing this smoldering Russian fire or proving that all of this 
smoke is, truly, just a series of misunderstandings.
  This issue shakes the foundations of our democracy, but our Union has 
survived harder challenges than this.
  At a time when the public's trust in government is called into 
question, we must do everything we can to restore faith in the 
integrity and the impartiality of our institutions.
  Just as we, as Americans, are unified in our faith in democracy and 
economic opportunity, we are unified in our belief in the rule of law. 
Just as we must show strength abroad through our military and our 
alliances, we must show strength at home by rooting out corruption and 
protecting our democratic process.
  All of us--Democrats and Republicans, Congress and the White House, 
our diplomats and our military--must send a clear, unified message to 
authoritarian leaders in Moscow and everywhere else that threats levied 
against the United States will never be tolerated and that there will 
be a price to pay for making them.
  The American people expect us to keep them safe while strengthening 
our Republic against enemies, both foreign and domestic. It is our duty 
to prove that we are up to the job.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.