[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 9, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S2824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Russia Investigation

  Mr. President, at yesterday's Judiciary Committee hearing, we heard 
from former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and former Director of 
National Intelligence James Clapper. In their testimony, both of them 
confirmed what we already know--that Russia tried to interfere in our 
elections and likely will do so again. Underline ``likely will do so 
again.''
  In particular, Deputy AG Yates made the point that General Flynn 
misled the Vice President about his contact with the Russian Ambassador 
and was vulnerable to blackmail since the Russians knew about those 
conversations.
  It is still an open question whether or not the Trump administration 
will hold General Flynn accountable under our criminal law. Needless to 
say, his presence in the administration and the length of time it took 
to dismiss him raise serious questions about why the President brought 
him onboard to begin with and why the President and his staff did not 
respond more quickly to protect our national security.
  Both parties in Congress should be focused on the threat posed by 
Russia's hacking activities and Russia's attempt to influence foreign 
elections, especially ours. Make no mistake about it. These cyber 
attacks will not be limited to any one party or any President. Anyone 
who draws the ire of President Putin--President, Senator, Member of 
Congress, elected official--could be subject to these dark attacks. 
Whatever is good for Russia at the moment, whatever hurts the United 
States the most, that is what he will pursue.
  Director Clapper testified that Russia likely feels ``emboldened'' to 
continue its hacking activities, given their success at disrupting our 
2016 elections. He said:

       If there has ever been a clarion call for vigilance and 
     action against a threat to the very foundation of our 
     democratic political system, this episode is it.

  Those are his words, not mine.

       I hope the American people recognize the severity of this 
     threat and that we collectively counter it before it further 
     erodes the fabric of our democracy.

  I couldn't agree more with Mr. Clapper. I hope these hearings are 
just the start of a bipartisan discussion on how to combat these 
efforts and safeguard the integrity of our elections. Democrats and 
Republicans should join together and figure out what Russia had done to 
us in the past and how we prevent it from happening in the future. 
Again, as Director Clapper said, the very foundation of our democracy 
is at stake.
  The Founding Fathers, in their wisdom, wrote in the Constitution that 
we had to worry about foreign interference. It is happening now in a 
way that has never happened before, and in a bipartisan way we must 
act.