[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 10, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S2870]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Russia Investigation

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I was listening with interest to our 
friend and colleague from Minnesota talk about the Russia 
investigation. I agree with her 100 percent that it is our 
responsibility to get to the bottom of what exactly happened with 
respect to Russian involvement in our elections, much as they got 
involved in the elections in France, using the combined process 
commonly known as active measures. Active measures are a combination of 
cyber espionage, propaganda, and a use of social media through paid 
trolls who can then actually try to raise the visibility of some of 
this propaganda such that it then becomes part of the mainstream media 
and becomes accepted as part of the debate in democratic societies.
  I believe we share a bipartisan and universal commitment to get to 
the bottom of what happened in our last election.
  I would note that there are two members of the Senate Judiciary 
Committee who actually serve as members of the Senate Intelligence 
Committee, which is actively involved in a rigorous bipartisan 
investigation. That would be myself and Senator Feinstein, the ranking 
member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who is also the former chair 
of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
  Senator Feinstein has said recently that there is no evidence of 
collusion between the administration and Russia. I think she would 
share with me a commitment not to stop there but to find out where the 
facts take us. Indeed, thanks to Chairman Burr and thanks to Vice 
Chairman Warner, our bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee has 
unprecedented access to raw intelligence, from the National Security 
Agency, the CIA, and from all sources of the intelligence community. We 
have access to some of the most sensitive intelligence gathered by the 
U.S. Government. I think that is due to the credit and leadership of 
Chairman Burr and Vice Chairman Warner that our committee has remained 
bipartisan and we are leaving no stone unturned to get to the bottom of 
what exactly happened.
  So I know people are concerned, and I share that concern. We need to 
come up with a program of countermeasures to deal with this because the 
Russian Government has been amping up their game for some time now, and 
now they are operating at certainly dangerous levels when it comes to 
trying to interfere in our most basic democratic institutions, like our 
elections.
  I would say, as far as the Department of Justice is concerned, that 
Rod Rosenstein was confirmed by this body by a vote of 94 to 6. That is 
probably the only Trump nomination so far since he has been President 
that has enjoyed such broad bipartisan support. It is because of his 
distinguished record, most recently as the U.S. attorney in Baltimore.
  I remember hearing from our Senators from Maryland, for example, 
Democrats who were praising Rod Rosenstein and saying he was exactly 
the kind of person we needed in this sensitive job as Deputy Attorney 
General.
  But now our colleagues seem to forget their very own conviction and 
vote on Rod Rosenstein, and now they say that he can't be fair, that he 
has somehow an appearance of a conflict of interest, making it 
necessary to appoint a special counsel, which, by the way, also then 
reports to the leadership at the Department of Justice.
  I think we ought to give Mr. Rosenstein a chance to demonstrate that 
he is capable of leading that investigation at the Department of 
Justice, understanding that our role here in the Congress is not to 
pursue a criminal investigation and case. That is the job of the 
Department of Justice. Our job, in parallel fashion, is for oversight 
reasons and to let the American people and ourselves know exactly what 
happened. That is why the investigation of the bipartisan Senate Select 
Committee on Intelligence is so important, in addition to the hearings 
we are having in the Judiciary Committee, on which the Senator from 
Minnesota and I happen to serve as well.
  So we do need to get to the bottom of what happened, and I am 
confident we will. It is our duty, and we will get the job done.