[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 120 (Tuesday, July 17, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4974-S4975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRUMP-PUTIN SUMMIT
Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I am at a loss for words to describe
what happened yesterday in Helsinki, Finland. I am disappointed, as
well, by the stunning silence of some of my colleagues on the other
side of the aisle in response to it.
When each of us is elected to serve in Congress--the House and the
Senate--we are asked to take an oath, a very serious oath. In it, we
swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States
against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The President of the United
States similarly swears to preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution of the United States.
Yesterday in Helsinki, Finland, the President of the United States
was engaged in an appalling display. What we saw at that press
conference--standing just several feet away from Vladimir Putin, the
leader of Russia--was the President's decision to turn his back on the
organizations and agencies of the U.S. Government, to question their
credibility, and to affirm, incredibly, that Mr. Putin had given a
powerful denial to what they have found when it comes to the Russian
interference in our last election.
Just days after bullying our key NATO allies and failing to publicly
accept that Russia attacked our country, attacked our democracy, this
administration and its enablers here in Congress are failing that oath.
President Trump refuses to accept the findings of American
intelligence professionals, the Department of Justice, the Department
of Defense, and virtually every agency of our government that is tasked
with keeping us safe and instead accepts Vladimir Putin's absurd, self-
serving denials. Many of my colleagues here in Congress refuse to even
speak up to denounce the President's actions.
Consider what happened months before the 2016 election when our
Nation's top intelligence officials came and told key congressional
leaders about the Russian cyber attack on the United States. The
administration at that time, under President Obama, was deeply
concerned. President Obama was looking for a bipartisan response
condemning Putin's efforts in the closing days of the elections so as
to avoid any hint of partisanship in the public announcement and to
present a unified deterrent.
What was the response of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after
hearing this alarming revelation that Vladimir Putin was actively
interfering in our elections and trying to undermine our democracy?
Senator McConnell's response: No thanks. We are not going to help. And
incredibly, neither the Senator nor his party did.
Is there anyone in the Senate--anyone who took the oath to protect
our Nation against enemies, foreign and domestic--who thinks any of us,
regardless of political party, should receive help from a foreign
adversary to get elected? I hope we all agree that country must come
before party. So then why do so many of my Republican colleagues remain
silent in light of President Trump's open denial of the reality of
Russia's involvement in our election?
Yesterday, we watched in disbelief as the President not only refused
to even acknowledge the act of cyber war against the United States but,
incredibly, blamed America first for our poor relationship with Russia.
We watched our American President refuse to stand up to Vladimir Putin,
a former KGB official, who executed one of the most breathtaking cyber
attacks in history aimed at the United States and aimed at undermining
the Western security alliance and our country's democracy. An American
President stood on the world stage next to a tyrant--a tyrant who
denies that he attacked us--and then the President of the United States
repeatedly agreed with that adversary and dismissed criminal
indictments of Russian Government officials responsible for the attack.
The President closed with a rambling preening about his great election
victory.
We have an American President who seems to be utterly incapable of
saying
[[Page S4975]]
the obvious to Vladimir Putin. The President should say: Don't ever
interfere in U.S. elections again. I don't want your help, and I don't
believe your absurd denials. He refused to say that.
Compare his bizarre and dangerous comments in Helsinki with what
President Ronald Reagan said before the 1988 NATO summit. Instead of
bullying our closest allies, Ronald Reagan said:
Our first priority is to maintain a strong and healthy
partnership between North America and Europe, for this is the
foundation on which the cause of freedom so crucially
depends.
Again, Ronald Reagan said:
Our first priority is to maintain a strong and healthy
partnership between North America and Europe, for this is the
foundation on which the cause of freedom so crucially
depends.
There is at least one Republican Senator who is not silent. My friend
and a great American patriot, John McCain, said this yesterday about
the Helsinki press conference:
Today's press conference in Helsinki was one of the most
disgraceful performances by an American President in memory.
The damage inflicted by President Trump's naivete, egotism,
false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to
calculate. . . . President Trump proved not only unable, but
unwilling to stand up to Putin. He and Putin seemed to be
speaking from the same script as the President made a
conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair
questions of a free press, and to grant Putin an uncontested
platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world.
I could not agree more. It is obvious. We, all of us, Democrats and
Republicans, should agree with what John McCain said.
Despite President Trump's shameful denials of Russian interference at
yesterday's farce of a press conference, the evidence is clear: Russia
did interfere in the 2016 election. Our intelligence agencies and the
bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee have concluded that not only
did Russia interfere in our elections through cyber attacks, but they
did so to harm Hillary Clinton, help elect Donald Trump, and undermine
our democratic process.
When Donald Trump hears those words, it sends him into a rage. He
denies any Russian interference for fear that it might reflect on his
victory in the election. There is no evidence that has been produced to
date that shows that Russian interference changed the outcome of that
election. I am not questioning whether Donald Trump won the Electoral
College and became President, but I don't think he should question
whether the Russians were trying to undermine that process.
During his ongoing investigation into Russian meddling, Special
Counsel Mueller has so far indicted 32 individuals and 3 companies on a
total of 191 criminal charges. This includes the February indictment of
13 Russian trolls who engaged in a multiyear effort to influence our
election, to support the election of Donald Trump by sowing discord and
inflaming social tensions online.
The Mueller investigation includes 12 members of the Russian military
intelligence, specifically named, who were indicted last Friday for
engaging in a sustained operation to hack into the emails, accounts,
and computer networks of the Democratic National Committee, the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Hillary Clinton's
Presidential campaign.
These Russians also created online personas and worked with WikiLeaks
to publish the stolen documents. To cover their tracks, they committed
identity theft, engaged in money laundering, and at one point leased a
computer in my home State of Illinois to store and move the stolen
documents through encrypted channels.
Additionally, the Russians hacked into the computer networks of
election officials and vendors in order to steal voter data and other
information. The indictment, produced by Special Counsel Mueller,
mentions that the Russians ``hacked the website of a state board of
elections . . . and stole information related to approximately 500,000
voters, including names, addresses, partial social security numbers,
dates of birth, and driver's license numbers.'' This was, presumably,
in reference to the Illinois State Board of Elections, which we already
knew was one of the first victims of a successful Russian cyber
attack--a Russian cyber attack that President Donald Trump refuses to
believe ever happened.
We know that Russia meddled in the 2016 election, and we know that we
should be gearing up for Russia to interfere with the 2018 midterm
election as well. Just this past weekend, Director of National
Intelligence Dan Coats, my former Republican Senate colleague from the
State of Indiana and a man for whom I voted for this position and whom
I respect very much, reiterated the ongoing threat that Russia
presents, saying: ``In regard to state actions, Russia has been the
most aggressive foreign actor--no question--and they continue their
efforts to undermine our democracy.''
What a departure from what President Trump said in Helsinki
yesterday. His own Director of National Intelligence has refuted the
statement he made to the world yesterday, agreeing with the ``powerful
statement'' of Vladimir Putin's that he had nothing to do with an
attack on our election. Our President is cozying up to Vladimir Putin
at the expense of the credibility of his own Director of National
Intelligence. Why is this happening?
Instead of condemning President Trump and supporting the Special
Counsel's efforts of getting to the bottom of this, sadly, the vast
majority of congressional Republicans are actively working to undermine
the investigation.
Just last week, Senate Republicans confirmed the nomination of Brian
Benczkowski to serve as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the
Criminal Division of the Department of Justice. They voted for Mr.
Benczkowski to be in charge of 600 Federal prosecutors despite the fact
that Mr. Benczkowski, as a lawyer, has never been in a trial--never. He
has never been in a courtroom and has never been in a trial. He was
named by President Trump to head up the Criminal Division of the
Department of Justice. That may not be the worst part.
Mr. Benczkowski, in his private law practice in Washington, also
chose to represent a Russian bank, the Alfa-Bank, which has deep ties
to Vladimir Putin. This is despite the fact that when he was called on
it, he said he would not commit to recusing himself from this Russia
investigation.
Furthermore, this vote occurred as President Trump and House
Republicans had been looking for an excuse to fire Deputy Attorney
General Rosenstein, who is overseeing the Mueller investigation. Should
Rosenstein be fired, Mr. Benczkowski could be easily tasked by the
President to oversee the Russia investigation. That would be an
unmitigated legal disaster.
Enough is enough. Today is the day that, I hope, my colleagues--
Democrat and Republican alike--will step forward and speak up.
The world is still reeling from the comments that were made yesterday
in Helsinki by the President of the United States of America. There are
serious questions from our longtime NATO allies--those who count on the
United States for the safety and security of their republics. There are
serious questions in their minds about who we are, what we stand for,
the relationship between this President and Vladimir Putin--a
relationship which is absolutely inexplicable in that President Trump
would refuse to concede the obvious--that Vladimir Putin is setting out
to undermine our values in the world.
President Trump should stand with the brave men and women of law
enforcement, intelligence, and the Department of Defense who have
warned him about Vladimir Putin, and he should not be so easily swept
away with these meetings he has.
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. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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