[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.
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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.