[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 120 (Tuesday, July 17, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4985-S4993]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Trump-Putin Summit

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I join with my colleagues this afternoon 
to talk about the President's deeply embarrassing and disgraceful 
meeting with President Putin yesterday.
  But first, allow me to comment on what we just heard from the 
President. A few minutes ago, President Trump seemed to say that he 
accepts the findings of the intelligence community that Russia meddled 
in our election. Well, welcome to the club, President Trump.
  We have known since the middle of the 2016 election that they 
meddled. For the President to admit it now is cold comfort to a 
disturbed public that has watched him bend over backward to avoid 
criticizing Putin directly. President Trump may be trying to squirm 
away from what he said yesterday, but it is 24 hours too late--and in 
the wrong place--for the President to take a real stance on Putin's 
election meddling.
  Amazingly, President Trump, after reading his statement that he 
accepted the intelligence community's conclusion that Putin meddled in 
our election, added, in his own words, ``could be other people also. A 
lot of people out there.'' This is just like Charlottesville. He made a 
horrible statement,

[[Page S4986]]

tried to back off, but couldn't even bring himself to back off. It 
shows the weakness of this President. It shows the weakness of 
President Trump--that he is afraid to confront Mr. Putin directly. Like 
a coward, he tries to squeal away from it when he is several thousand 
miles away.
  What is President Putin going to take out of the President's actions 
today? That the man is weak, that he is afraid, that he is cowardly, 
and that Putin will feel he can take even further advantage of Donald 
Trump.
  The President is now asking the American people not to believe their 
own eyes and ears about what he told the world in Helsinki yesterday. 
Even in his completely implausible effort to ``correct'' his own words, 
he departed from his text to again claim that the hacking could have 
been done by someone other than Russia. If the President can't say 
directly to President Putin ``Mr. Putin, you are wrong and we are 
right; our intelligence agencies are right,'' it is ineffective, and 
worse, it shows such weakness. It tells President Putin to continue to 
take advantage of the United States because President Trump doesn't 
have the courage, the strength, maybe not even the conviction to say to 
President Putin's face what he tried to say a few minutes ago.
  The President's comments a moment ago changed very little. The 
question still remains: What will the Senate do in response? I have 
seen a few of my Republican colleagues shrug their shoulders, claiming 
they have done all they can. That is bunk. As Senators, we have a 
responsibility and an ability--an incredible power given to us by the 
Founding Fathers to check and balance this President.
  As I said this morning, here are a few things the Senate can do 
immediately in response to the President's disastrous summit. We can 
ratchet up sanctions on Russia, not water them down. Sanctions we 
passed 98 to 2 have not even been fully implemented by the Trump 
administration. And now someone has inserted a loophole to water them 
down in the House defense legislation.
  Second, our Republican colleagues need to immediately join us in 
demanding public testimony from the President's national security team 
that was in Helsinki. Secretary Pompeo, DNI Director Coats, Ambassador 
Huntsman, and anybody else who was part of that team ought to be 
testifying openly, publicly, and directly to Congress. We need to know 
this because, as frightening and damaging as the President's comments 
were to the public in Helsinki, what he said behind closed doors is, in 
all likelihood, even worse. Why did the President want to close the 
doors? There are lots of explanations. None of them are good. Does 
anyone believe that President Trump was tougher on Putin in secret? Why 
else did he not want anyone in the room?
  Next, where are the notes from that meeting? What did the President 
agree to? Can we have the translator come in and testify? Was Secretary 
of State Pompeo briefed afterward on what happened? Did he take notes? 
Were any other members of the President's team briefed? The notes need 
to be turned over to Congress immediately.
  I am calling on Leader McConnell and his Republican leadership team 
to immediately request a hearing with Pompeo, Coats, Huntsman, the rest 
of the President's national security team in Helsinki, and with the 
translator, so we can learn the full extent of what happened behind 
closed doors. Our national security is at risk. It is an unusual 
request for unusual times.
  Next, our Republican friends must end attacks on the Justice 
Department, the FBI, particularly the special counsel, and let the 
investigation proceed unimpeded. The best way to do this is to pass the 
legislation, authored by a bipartisan group led by Senators Coons and 
Booker on our side and Senator Tillis and Graham on the Republican 
side, which passed out of the Judiciary Committee.
  Leader McConnell, if you are serious about checks and balances, if 
you are serious about making sure President Trump obeys the law and 
protects our security, put that bill on the floor now. It will pass.
  Fourth, the President must release his tax returns and insist that 
the 12 Russians indicted for election interference are handed over. The 
President has refused to release his tax returns, but these bizarre 
actions he has taken seem to indicate that President Putin has 
something over President Trump, something personal, and it might be 
financial. We need to see the tax returns.
  Finally, we must move the election security legislation immediately. 
Senator Klobuchar has bipartisan legislation. Senator Van Hollen has 
bipartisan legislation. Senator Harris has legislation. We need to move 
it. Leader McConnell has talked about it a little bit. Let's move it 
quickly, but remember, the President still has control because the 
Director of National Intelligence has the ability to put out this 
report, and he is, after all, a Presidential appointee. I have some 
faith in the integrity of Mr. Coats, but he may not even be there after 
November, particularly given the way President Trump treats his 
appointees. So that legislation is good and necessary, but hardly 
sufficient.
  I hope our Senate will move; I hope our Republican colleagues will 
not just talk the talk, but walk the walk. ``Tsk, tsk'' is not enough 
when national security is at stake. Action--bipartisan action--is 
required.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Flake). The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I rise to follow my leader and talk about 
this issue of great importance.
  Let me begin with something I cherish. I have a photo, taken on 
December 1, 2016, of one of my children in snowy fields in Lithuania in 
a U.S. military operation with NATO troops called Operation Iron Sword. 
The photo is of my son taking the oath of office to become a captain in 
the United States Marine Corps. He was deployed with 1,200 members of 
his battalion on the border of Russia between the Black Sea and the 
Baltic Sea, to protect America against a nation that General Joe 
Dunford, the head of our Joint Chiefs of Staff, describes as our 
principal adversary. These 1,200 young men and women were deployed far 
from home, working together with a nation on the Russian border to 
protect them and to protect our country.
  My son was not alone with the Marines; there were also troops from 
many NATO nations and Lithuania and troops from other service branches 
of the United States. I hope you will forgive me for being a little bit 
Marine-centric.
  The Marine motto ``Semper Fidelis'' means ``always faithful,'' but I 
think that motto applies not just to marines but to all who wear the 
uniform in the United States, certainly those helping the European 
allies counter Russian aggression and those 1.3 million people on 
Active Duty today--``always faithful.''
  After the last week, a very profound question has been raised. While 
our troops can carry that and meet that ``always faithful'' standard, I 
think we have some significant questions about this President. Would he 
meet the same standard--``Semper Fidelis,'' ``always faithful''? Would 
he meet it for this country? Will the Senate meet the ``always 
faithful'' standard?
  In the President's first year and a half in office, exercising the 
responsibility to be a Commander in Chief, I would say he has been a 
bit more of a ``disruptor in chief.'' We have had Presidents of both 
parties since the beginning of the 20th century--Presidents Wilson, 
FDR, President Truman, President Reagan, other Presidents of both 
parties--who always tried to be Commanders in Chief, who tried to be 
builders of security, builders of alliances. That is not the path the 
current President has taken. He has tried to be more of a disruptor.
  He has pulled America out of a diplomatic deal with Iran that allied 
nations in the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran was 
complying with. I am not aware of the United States ever unilaterally 
backing out of a deal when there was a consensus that the other nations 
were complying with it.
  He has pulled us out of a climate accord that we reached with other 
nations in Paris.
  He has unilaterally decided that the United States would be the only 
holdout nation not participating in a U.N. global compact on migration 
to try to deal with the problem of migrants around the world.
  He has loved to name-call our allies. It was shameful last week on 
his trip

[[Page S4987]]

to Europe that, essentially sitting in Prime Minister Theresa May's 
front office, he trashed her--one of our great allies. He trashed 
Angela Merkel, and he has done this before to the Prime Minister of 
Canada, the Prime Minister of Australia. Important allies of the United 
States have found themselves being name-called by this petty man. He 
has undercut valuable U.S. alliances. He described last week the 
European Union and Europe as our principal foe. He has repeatedly 
described NATO as obsolete. He has now launched trade wars against 
allies of the United States, asserting that national security demands 
that he do so.

  The Presiding Officer and I were together in a meeting with the 
Canadian Foreign Minister in the last couple of weeks. She looked us in 
the eye and asked: Do you know how insulting it is that you would 
describe Canada--with the longest, undefended border in the world with 
another country, your ally in every war since the War of 1812, whose 
troops are serving side by side with Americans in Afghanistan, and who 
are fighting ISIS in Iraq today--as a national security threat?
  We heard the same thing from Germany's Foreign Minister in the 
aftermath of this parade of insults against our allies last week. In 
the aftermath of using a national security waiver against our allies, 
the German Foreign Minister said just yesterday--and these should be 
painful words for anybody who cares about this country--that the United 
States is no longer a reliable ally.
  To top all of this off, if there is a new low--and it may be debased 
even further tomorrow--it is the President's performance of standing 
next to Vladimir Putin, whose aggression against other nations, 
including the United States, has put troops, like my son, on the 
Russian border to work with allies halfway around the world--far from 
their families, far from their homes--and taking Putin's side over that 
of patriotic Americans who are working in our national security 
establishment and who have unanimously concluded that Russia attacked 
our 2016 election.
  For him to say ``Well, my people say they did, but he says they 
didn't; I can't see why Russia would,'' what an abomination to all of 
the hard-working Americans who are with agencies like the CIA and the 
FBI and with other national security agencies who have reached a 
consensus opinion that Russia cyber attacked the integrity of our 
elections. To have watched this President stand on the stage publicly 
and say that he believed Vladimir Putin over patriotic Americans who 
were doing this work was a new low. They attacked us.
  A President who would say there are good people on both sides of a 
White supremacy rally when there were three people killed in 
Charlottesville, VA, including two State Troopers I knew, is the same 
President who would stand next to a dictator who attacked us and take 
his side over the side of American security professionals.
  So I return to the question. The Americans who wear the uniform, 
whether they be marines or not, are always faithful. The President's 
performance, especially in the last week, raises deep questions about 
whether he meets that standard. Yet I think, for purposes of today, as 
I conclude, the question has to be: Will the Senate meet the standard?
  I don't expect anyone in the administration to check this bad 
behavior. Some may encourage the President to do differently. Some may 
try to check the bad behavior, but I don't think they will be able to. 
I think we would be naive, frankly, to think that the House of 
Representatives would check the bad behavior. The fact that the Select 
Committee on Intelligence's investigation on the House side has gone 
off the rails suggests that it will not.
  The question is posed pretty starkly, and it sits directly on our 
shoulders: Will the U.S. Senate take the steps to protect this country 
from the destruction we are seeing right now?
  There needs to be a briefing of the Senate as to what was going on 
last week and what was discussed with Vladimir Putin and what could be 
the justification for the horrible capitulation we saw.
  We need to do all we can to protect the Mueller investigation and let 
it reach its end point so we know who was culpable and how to protect 
our elections. The Russians who have invaded our election system need 
to be extradited to the United States. The administration needs to 
implement the sanctions legislation that this body passed by 98 to 2.
  We also need to grapple with election security questions. I was a 
mayor and a Governor with boards of elections that ran elections, and 
no one has confidence that this President and this administration will 
protect American elections.
  As I close, I will just say--and I have not said it in the time I 
have been in the Senate, and I hope I never say it again--that I think 
this issue and this time may well be one of the most important moments 
in the history of the entire U.S. Senate. We will either rise to the 
occasion and will show that we are always faithful or we will not. I 
hope we will.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The minority whip.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, back in the day when I was a trial lawyer 
and we had had a witness come to the stand who had made a big mistake--
who had said something that would hurt your case or, maybe, even decide 
it the wrong way or who had misrepresented someone--you went through a 
period of rehabilitating the witness, which meant, basically, asking 
friendly questions and trying to get that witness back into a credible 
position. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
  This afternoon, President Trump attempted to rehabilitate himself for 
his performance in Helsinki, Finland.
  The President said:

       While I had a great meeting with NATO, raising vast amounts 
     of money, I had an even better meeting with Vladimir Putin of 
     Russia. Sadly, it is not being reported that way--the Fake 
     News is going Crazy!

  I don't think that comment is going to rehabilitate President Trump 
from his performance in Helsinki. It was sad, heartbreaking, and, in 
many ways, infuriating to think that he stood within a few feet of this 
Russian tyrant and said he believed that man, Vladimir Putin, more than 
he believed the intelligence agencies--the Department of Defense and 
the Department of Justice--of the United States of America. That was 
what he said, and it was a moment that will not easily be forgotten. It 
is not something he can talk his way out of.
  He made similarly incoherent and jarring comments moments ago in an 
apparent damage control event. He went so far as to say that our NATO 
allies ``were thrilled'' with his recent visit during which he bullied 
and belittled them.
  In some moments, the President loses touch with reality. He believes 
that we are suffering from national amnesia and that we can't remember 
what happened yesterday or last week. We remember. The reason we 
remember is that it is such a dramatic departure from the conduct of 
previous Presidents and that it is such a dramatic departure from the 
history of the United States. I think our President's sense of history 
reaches back to the day before yesterday and not far beyond.
  He does not realize, as President Reagan said so often, that our NATO 
alliance is critical to the security of the United States and to our 
European friends and to the world. He just doesn't get it. He doesn't 
understand why that alliance is so critical. He belittles it. He 
bullies the members. He picks some of our strongest allies and decides 
to make them spectacles of his performance. That doesn't make it any 
easier for them to continue to stand by our side, and it, certainly, 
doesn't put them in a position of trusting us in the future if they 
desperately need us.
  My mother was born in Lithuania, in the Baltics. I have been there 
many, many times. They are great little countries--Estonia, Latvia, and 
Lithuania--and next-door, Poland. They have seen a lot over the years. 
They have been overrun by Nazis and Communists, and they have seen 
their freedoms be eliminated under autocratic rule. They believed, when 
they finally restored democracy about 25 or 30 years ago, that their 
only chance--their only guarantee of any future--was going to be with 
the NATO alliance, with becoming part of Europe--with becoming part of 
this great alliance with the United States.
  Last night, I was with Gordon Smith, a former Senator from Oregon. We 
both

[[Page S4988]]

remembered a visit to Lithuania in 1999 where there was this rally, 
this small rally, in one of the public streets in Lithuania. It was a 
NATO rally or, as they called it, ``GNAT-OH.'' They were chanting in 
Lithuanian how much they wanted to be part of NATO. They understood 
then and they understand today that the NATO alliance is Lithuania's 
ticket to freedom, that the NATO alliance is its insurance policy. The 
NATO alliance gives it hope that there will not be another generation 
of Lithuanians who will live in suppression and chains.
  When the President belittles this and suggests that, perhaps, the 
Baltics are on the table when he talks of Vladimir Putin, it strikes 
fear in the hearts of God-fearing people who basically can still 
remember what it means to be under the heel of the Communist leadership 
of Moscow. The President just doesn't get it. He does not understand 
the importance of it. He, certainly, doesn't understand Vladimir Putin. 
To think that he would allow Putin to use what he called ``powerful 
words'' and deny what we already know to be true says that the 
President is very gullible.
  What is it about this relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir 
Putin? How can you explain this? Why would a President of the United 
States be bowing and scraping to this Russian tyrant--to a man who has 
a dismal record when it comes to human rights, to a man who led his 
troops in the invasion of the nation of Georgia and who invaded Ukraine 
and who took over Crimea, to a man who set up a situation in Syria in 
which innocent people would die and in which their own tyrant would 
succeed, to a man who invaded our election process as he did?
  I guess what we are looking for now, as our minority leader, Senator 
Schumer, said earlier, is an accounting of what actually happened in 
Helsinki. This disastrous meeting between President Trump and Vladimir 
Putin needs to be fully explained to the American people. I join with 
Senator Schumer in calling for hearings with the President's Helsinki 
team--with Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, and with Dan Coats, the 
Director of National Intelligence and a man I greatly respect, who 
showed a steel spine this last week as he witnessed the President's 
turning on him and the intelligence community, and with Mr. Huntsman, 
our Ambassador to Moscow. They should all be coming to Washington 
quickly to explain what happened and how to repair the damage created 
by President Trump.
  We need to see a transcript of the one-on-one meeting with President 
Trump and Vladimir Putin. If he were so deferential in his public press 
conference with Vladimir Putin, what did our President say to Putin 
behind closed doors? It is not too much for the American people to ask 
for an accounting.
  We need to make sure that the Republicans will join us in protecting 
the Office of Special Counsel. So far, Robert Mueller's investigation 
has led to the indictments of 32 individuals, and 5 have already pled 
guilty. The latest included 12 Russian intelligence agents who were 
specified by name as being involved in the efforts to undo our 
election.
  We also need something that is very basic and, I think, that all of 
us have now come to realize is essential. President Donald Trump can no 
longer refuse to disclose his income tax returns. He did it throughout 
the campaign. He has refused to make a disclosure since. We need to 
know his financial relationship with Russia and Vladimir Putin's 
oligarchs. There has to be more to the story than we know today, and it 
is time for this President to come clean.
  Finally, we need to press for election security legislation. We live 
in a dangerous moment. I also agree with former Senator Dan Coats. It 
is a moment at which the Russians will try to take advantage of us.
  My last plea will be to my colleagues who have not spoken out clearly 
on this subject--not to the Presiding Officer, because he has spoken 
out, and I respect him so much. We need them to come forward and make 
it clear on a bipartisan basis that we stand together when it comes to 
foreign policy, the values of this Nation, and the security of the 
United States. We understand that Vladimir Putin has been a tyrant who 
has really made life miserable and who has killed many innocent people 
in his rage against the West and against the United States.
  Most of all, we need more Republican Senators who will join with 
those in the past who have stepped forward and put country first over 
party. I remember reading the history of the Nixon years and the 
breaking point. The breaking point finally occurred when people like 
Republican Senator Barry Goldwater, of Arizona, stood up and said: 
``There are only so many lies you can take, and now there has been one 
too many.'' He joined with several other Republican Senators and went 
down to the White House and sat face-to-face with President Richard 
Nixon. They sat directly in front of him and explained that enough was 
enough.
  It will take that. It will take that again for Republican Senators to 
have the courage to meet with this President and tell him he has to 
stop giving away the heritage, the values, and the legacy of the United 
States of America.
  Those courageous Americans back in that day were, of course, talking 
about lies, corruption, obstruction of justice, and dangers to our 
democratic system. They took the oath of office. It is the same one we 
have taken to protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and 
domestic, and to, certainly, put party second to our obligations to our 
Nation.
  For their courage, we and history owe them a debt of gratitude. Since 
yesterday's fiasco with Putin, only one Republican has spoken 
specifically on the Senate floor about this crisis. He was joined by 
the most eloquent statement by John McCain, who, because of illness, 
could not be physically present. That is it. It is not enough.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise to urge this body to uphold our 
solemn responsibility to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution 
of the United States and to protect the Nation from all enemies, 
foreign and domestic.
  I have long believed the President's words and actions have 
undermined our national interests and our values, but yesterday felt 
different.
  As someone who has sat for 26 years on the House and Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee, it was a day of infamy in the history of our 
foreign policy.
  Yesterday, the American people witnessed a supplicant President of 
the United States capitulate to a brutal foreign leader on the world 
stage. Far from standing up to Putin, President Trump was unable to 
even acknowledge Russia's attack in 2016 and the continued threat it 
poses today. Instead, the President reverted to his own insecurities 
about his electoral victory and disturbingly subverted the work of the 
men and women who lead our intelligence community.
  I shouldn't have to repeat this, but I will, and I hope my colleagues 
on both sides of the aisle are as unequivocal as well. Seventeen--
seventeen--U.S. intelligence agencies together assessed that Russian 
President Vladimir Putin ordered a sophisticated influence campaign 
aimed at the 2016 Presidential election. Yet the President said he had 
``no reason to believe'' Russia interfered, and I have no reason to 
believe what he tried to clean up today.
  Those statements directly contradicted statements from then-CIA 
Director Mike Pompeo--who is now the Secretary of State--the U.S. Vice 
President, Michael Pence, and the Director of U.S. National 
Intelligence.
  The President said:

       I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I 
     will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and 
     powerful in his denial today. And what he did is an 
     incredible offer; he offered to have the people working on 
     the case come and work with their investigators--

  With respect to the 12 military intelligence officers that the 
special counsel indicted--

       I think that is an incredible offer.

  The only incredible thing about that offer is that the President of 
the United States would invite the perpetrator of the crime to help 
with the investigation. That is incredible.
  Every time President Trump failed to stand up to Vladimir Putin felt 
like a collective punch in the gut of the American people. It was 
disturbing and saddening to see the leader of the free world shrink in 
the face of a dictator.

[[Page S4989]]

  Just as disturbing is, we have no idea what transpired between 
President Trump and Putin during their secretive, lengthy meeting. What 
could the President need to discuss with President Putin for 2 hours 
with no other advisers present? If President Trump said such appalling 
things in public, Lord knows what he would have said to Putin in 
private. We deserve to know what was said and what was agreed to. We 
can't afford to be blindsided or outmaneuvered.
  Just today, the Russian Ministry of Defense publicly stated it is 
preparing to start implementing an agreement that the President 
apparently struck in Helsinki with President Putin--an agreement that 
neither Congress nor the American people have been informed about.
  President Trump, to adequately protect America's interests, we need 
to know what commitments you made to Putin. What specific topics did 
you discuss? What were the suggestions President Putin made to you? Did 
you discuss any changes to international security agreements, and, if 
so, what were they? Did you advocate for the extradition of the 12 
Russian intelligence officers indicted last Friday? Did you make any 
commitments to the U.S. role regarding Syria? Did you press Russia to 
return to compliance with the INF Treaty and halt its nuclear threats 
against Europe? Did you discuss U.S. sanctions on Russia, including 
CAATSA sanctions that this body passed 98 to 2? If so, did you commit 
to any action?
  Did you call upon President Putin to withdraw from Crimea and eastern 
Ukraine so both areas can be returned to the sovereign Government of 
Ukraine or did you ultimately give up on Crimea?
  Did you discuss NATO military exercises scheduled for this fall? Did 
you agree to roll back or change the nature of those exercises? Did you 
discuss U.S. security assistance to Ukraine and make any concessions 
regarding their continuation?
  Did you raise the issue of political prisoners with President Putin, 
including that of Oleg Sentsov, the Ukrainian filmmaker who has been 
detained for 4 years on a hunger strike?
  What, if anything, did you commit to? We need to know.
  The President keeps saying having a good relationship with Russia 
would be a good thing. Of course, having good relationships with 
countries, in general, is a good thing, but those relationships must be 
grounded in trust, in cooperation, in the values we share--values like 
human rights, democracies, self-governance, and individual freedom.
  We do not share values with a country that attacks our elections and, 
by doing so, seeks to undermine our democracy. We do not share values 
with a country that invades its sovereign neighbors and engages in a 
brutal war with Ukraine. We do not share values with a country that 
bolsters the Butcher of Damascus and is complicit in war crimes in 
Syria. We do not share values with a country that assassinates 
political opponents and jails journalists. We do not share values with 
a country that continuously violates the international order. We do not 
share values with Russia under Putin.
  We take oaths when we are sworn into office. President Trump did as 
well. Yesterday's behavior, from my view, was an abdication of that 
oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United 
States.
  We have reached a terrible and historic low point in the United 
States. An American President, it seems, has teamed up with Russian 
intelligence against our democracy, our FBI, our Justice Department, 
and our intelligence community.
  Our President is more closely aligned with Vladimir Putin than he is 
with his own government. It is unfortunate we have come to expect this 
behavior. President Trump has made his fixation on Putin and his 
affinity for authoritarians crystal clear, and America is weaker 
because of it. The question is, Are Senate Republicans OK with this? 
Except for the Presiding Officer and one or two other colleagues, from 
the silence of many or the feeble comments of others, I would say so.
  Are they willing to concede Russian policy to President Trump? Is the 
price of letting this President surrender to a brutal dictator in 
Moscow some corporate tax cuts and a Supreme Court seat?
  Tweeting about being ``troubled''--troubled--is shamefully 
inappropriate. Signing on to symbolic measures that carry no force of 
law is a joke, and remaining silent in the face of betrayal is nothing 
less than complicity.
  It is time the Republican-led Congress live up to its constitutional 
responsibilities. If this Senate is to respond appropriately, here is 
what we must immediately do, starting this week:
  First, the Foreign Relations Committee; the Armed Services Committee, 
of which my distinguished colleague is the ranking Democrat; and the 
Intelligence Committee, of which my distinguished colleague is a 
member, must hold hearings on what happened in Helsinki. We have a 
right and a responsibility to know what transpired between Trump and 
Putin and how it affects American citizens. We have the power to compel 
the administration to provide that information; we just need to use it.
  Second, the Senate must protect the Mueller investigation and prevent 
interference by President Trump. The President is laying the groundwork 
to fire the special counsel. We can't let that happen. It is our 
responsibility to protect the integrity of our institutions.
  Third, the Senate must conduct real oversight of the Russia sanctions 
that were signed into law last August. As I have said repeatedly on 
this floor, the Trump administration is ignoring several mandatory 
provisions of the law--mandatory. In all of the sanctions that I have 
helped write, this is one of the first times the Congress came together 
and didn't give the President waivers because they were concerned about 
what he would do vis-a-vis Russia, and look at this--maybe that 
foresight was very clairvoyant.
  I and other Democrats have spoken out. We have sent several letters. 
We continuously urged administration officials to implement the 
sanctions. Where are the Senate Republicans, including all of those who 
voted for this bill, except for one? Silent.
  If you want to stand up to Putin, if you want to stand up against 
Trump's capitulation in Helsinki, then we need to press the 
administration to finally implement what is already in the law--what is 
already in the law. We should do so today.
  Fourth, we need to protect ourselves here at home, since it is clear 
we have a President who will not. The Senate needs to take up and pass 
the Protecting the Right to Independent and Democratic Elections Act I 
introduced last month. There are also measures by Senators Warner, 
Klobuchar, and others that would bolster our electoral defenses.
  President Trump's intelligence community has repeatedly warned that 
the Kremlin's dangerous interference in U.S. democracy is continuing. 
Just days ago, the Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, said 
the warning signs are ``blinking red'' of further Russian cyber 
attacks. He noted that we are under literal attack. Yet instead of 
marshaling a whole-of-government response, President Trump remains 
fixated on protecting his fragile ego.
  Today is the fourth anniversary of the shooting down of Malaysia 
Airlines flight 17 over eastern Ukraine by Russian-supported 
separatists, which killed all 298 people on board--a devastating 
reminder of the real dangers of the Kremlin's brutal targeting of 
civilians and why our relations with Russia have been strained.
  Yesterday, Putin said the ball is in America's court. Well, it is 
time we take our shot. It is time we show the American people and the 
world what it means to put country over party. It is time to show the 
American people that we can be patriots and not just partisans; that we 
will stand by our allies and stand up to our adversaries; that we will 
defend our democracy, our institutions, and the values that truly make 
America great.
  Our President has proven too weak, too egotistical, too feckless, or 
maybe too compromised to do it. It is up to us.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, as I and many of my colleagues feared, the 
Trump-Putin summit was disastrous,

[[Page S4990]]

and their press conference amounted to a disinformation operation in 
which President Trump played the willing participant. The propaganda, 
dissembling, and denials are part of Russia's hybrid operations against 
our country, our allies, and our partners that are an ongoing and 
persistent threat to our national security.
  By failing to challenge Putin's fabrications on Russia's interference 
with U.S. democracy, its annexation of Crimea, its role in Syria, its 
use of chemical agents against civilians, or its violations of its 
armed control obligations, President Trump acquiesced in Russia's lies 
and alternative facts and undermined our security in the process.
  A low point was President Trump siding with Putin, over our own 
intelligence community's assessment, on Russian election interference. 
It was the unanimous judgment of the intelligence community that Putin 
directed an attack on our 2016 elections with the intent of undermining 
public faith in our democratic process. That assessment was just 
reaffirmed unanimously by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
  Furthermore, last Friday, the Justice Department indicted 12 Russian 
military intelligence officers on charges of ``large-scale cyber 
operations to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.'' Despite 
being briefed on these developments, President Trump chose to side with 
Putin on election interference.
  It is unconscionable that an American President, standing on foreign 
soil, chose to play Putin's press secretary rather than take the word 
of his own intelligence officials--career professionals who put their 
lives on the line for the safety and security of all Americans.
  President Trump's words hurt our national security. Nations or 
potential sources may no longer trust the United States. They may hold 
back in fear that their highly classified secrets could be revealed to 
Russia, a foreign adversary, as Trump has done in the past.
  Yesterday, President Trump also made a moral equivalency between the 
United States and Russia. This is an unfathomable and dangerous break 
from the actions of past Presidents of both parties.
  President Trump's actions this week and throughout his Presidency 
have undermined the once bedrock belief around the globe that the 
United States is a beacon of hope and reliability.
  Further, moral equivalency is a longtime Russian narrative used by 
Putin to justify his continued oppression of his people and suppression 
of democratic impulses within Russia.
  On a more basic level, President Trump is undermining that which 
makes us strong. The world order that the United States created after 
World War II is something we have benefited from for decades. We draw 
strength from our allies and from participation in international 
institutions. The United States is not weakened by them; we are 
strengthened by them.

  The mere act of the two Presidents sitting down together was a 
victory for Putin. Instead of taking this opportunity to talk tough and 
call Putin out for his misdeeds, President Trump delivered rewards 
without gaining any changes in Russia's behavior. This adds up to 
weakness, acquiescence, and more. Nothing about Russia's behavior has 
changed. Putin is still in Crimea. He is still propping up Assad's 
murderous actions in Syria. He is still interfering in the domestic 
politics of the West and undermining people's faith in the democratic 
process.
  This is not theoretical. Director of National Intelligence Coats 
warned that Russian cyber attacks are threatening our government and 
our financial institutions. He used very explicit language to say that, 
akin to before 9/11, the warning signs of Russian aggression are 
``blinking red again.'' Yet, instead of recognizing that threat, 
denouncing attacks from Russia, and developing a whole-of-government 
solution to counter the threat, Trump is cozying up to Putin.
  In light of President Trump's dereliction of his responsibilities, I 
urge my Republican colleagues to stand up for the security and 
integrity of our democracy. Some of my colleagues have condemned 
President Trump's performance yesterday, but clearer and more concrete 
steps must be taken. Republicans must reject President Trump's weak and 
damaging views on foreign policy. What we saw this week and throughout 
this Presidency is an aberration that is unsustainable, and this course 
must be corrected soon. Words of regret or sadness for a missed 
opportunity are not sufficient in the wake of yesterday's display of 
weakness and narcissism.
  Republicans should join with Democrats to pass legislation to protect 
the Mueller investigation and to ensure that the investigation is 
permitted to follow the evidence wherever it leads and bring this 
matter to a conclusion.
  Republicans should join with Democrats to hold hearings and get 
testimony about the President's trip and particularly what he promised 
Putin during their private meeting.
  Republicans should join with Democrats in calling on the President to 
fully implement the sanctions act against Russia for its numerous 
nefarious activities.
  Republicans should join with Democrats and demand that President 
Trump be interviewed by Special Counsel Mueller under oath.
  Finally, I urge the Trump administration to at long last issue a 
comprehensive strategy coordinating our military, diplomatic, law 
enforcement, financial, and all other instruments of U.S. national 
power to counter Russian malign influence, as called for in last year's 
NDAA. We are waiting a year for a legislative mandate of this Congress 
to provide such a report. Time is running out.
  This is not a partisan issue. It is long past time for the President 
to denounce the Kremlin's behavior and take steps to mount a whole-of-
government response to deter it in the future.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Johnson). The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I yield to my colleague from Arizona 
if he wishes to be heard first.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
  Mr. FLAKE. Thank you. I will just be a moment.
  Mr. President, I appreciate the comments from my Democratic 
colleagues and hope that more of my Republican colleagues will speak 
about the spectacle yesterday in Helsinki.
  I said yesterday that I never thought I would see the President of 
the United States stand with the President of Russia and blame the 
United States for Russian aggression. I said yesterday that that was 
shameful. I feel the same today.
  Today, the President said that the press conference had been 
misinterpreted by the fake news media. I would say to the President 
that we all watched the press conference, and it wasn't the fake news 
media that sided with the Russian President over our own intelligence 
agencies; it was you.
  This body must stand and reaffirm that we stand with the men and 
women in the Department of Justice who have brought these 12 
indictments against individuals from the Russian Federation who 
interfered with our elections. We must say that we stand with our NATO 
allies and we stand with those in the EU; that they are not foes, they 
are friends. We must stand up to the real adversaries we have. Right 
now, Russia is an adversary. I hope the President will realize that. I 
hope he will take the word of the men and women of the Department of 
Justice and the entire intelligence agencies rather than the empty 
words of a dictator.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I am honored and grateful to follow 
the very powerful comments of my friend and colleague from Arizona. 
They remind me of our mutual friend, his colleague and partner from the 
State of Arizona, Senator John McCain, whom we miss at this moment more 
than ever. Senator McCain is with us in spirit, and those words remind 
us that the threat we face at this perilous time in our national 
history must be met with a truly bipartisan response.
  The threat we face is every bit as serious as any in the history of 
this country because it involves an attack on the pillars of our 
democracy. We know that 9/11 and Pearl Harbor involved a

[[Page S4991]]

physical assault with immediate loss of life. Russia's attack on this 
country in 2016 is every bit as serious and urgent.
  In the words of the Director of National Intelligence, our former 
colleague Dan Coats, this incident should put us truly on alert. Those 
blinking lights based on objective and unvarnished evidence, as he put 
it, of a pervasive, continuing attack should bring us together as a 
legislative body and as a country.
  This issue really is not about Donald Trump as much as it is about 
our Nation. The summit in a sense realized our worst fears; indeed, our 
deepest nightmare. At best, it was going to be a gift to President 
Putin because it legitimized him and elevated him on the world stage, 
even if no words followed that private meeting.
  The truth is that it happened, and the President of the United States 
was a puppet, a patsy, a pushover--in fact, an appeaser, in the worst 
tradition of that term--on the public stage. The President put Russia 
over this country. He failed to fulfill his oath of office to defend 
this Nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. He failed to put 
America's interests first. In fact, he blamed America first. He blamed 
everyone except for Putin and himself.
  Now he has attempted, shamefully, to rewrite history--unartfully, 
incredibly. He has said, in effect, that some editing, some minor 
change in grammar, would allow him to escape the universal condemnation 
from all sides of the political spectrum of his shameful surrender to 
Vladimir Putin.
  The question is, What does Vladimir Putin have on Donald Trump? We 
will not know until the special counsel finishes his investigation. We 
must do everything in this body--and this point is central to what we 
are saying today--to protect the special counsel against the continuing 
onslaught and assault from Donald Trump's cronies and surrogates on the 
far right--the fringe of the Republican Party--who are seeking to 
discredit the special counsel investigation; indeed, talking about 
impeaching Ron Rosenstein and demanding documents involved in that 
investigation. We must now pass the Special Counsel Independence and 
Integrity Act.
  If Donald Trump is serious and he believes that the Russians, in 
fact, interfered with our democracy, what he will do now is implement 
the sanctions that were made mandatory on Russia. He has violated his 
duty by continuing to avoid imposing them. He will authorize the Cyber 
Command to take aggressive measures--not simply defensive--and 
penetrate and disrupt the systems of cyber within Russia that are used 
against us. He will authorize the exposure and revelation of Russian 
oligarchs' and Vladimir Putin's wealth around the world, hidden and 
concealed--the result of their corruption in Russia. He himself can 
undertake these measures.
  If the Senate is serious about protecting the United States, it will 
order that the transcripts and notes and any documents and the security 
team who attended that summit come to the Congress in a closed briefing 
and eventually an open one, under oath, so the American people can 
know. They should be required to provide whatever they know about what 
happened in that private meeting so that we know what happened and the 
implications of what happened are truly known.
  Just yesterday, the Department of Justice issued a criminal complaint 
against Maria Butina. It followed indictments against 12 Russian 
individuals. Maria Butina is a Russian agent who worked through the NRA 
to influence and corrupt our political system--again, part of the 
Russian attack on this country. We need to hold hearings now to know 
whether Russia has been using organizations like the NRA and other 
shell companies to illegally funnel money into our election.
  I will close where I began. These issues transcend partisanship. They 
ought to be put above the everyday issues that concern us. We cannot 
say that we weren't warned. The failure to act and act now to hold 
Russia accountable, to make them pay a price, to show them that we will 
not tolerate--nor will our allies--this kind of interference in our 
elections will mean they will do it again. History will judge us 
harshly.
  Our allies were never more important than now. They are victims of 
the same kind of attack. Rather than trashing and beating them, as 
President Trump has done, we should bring them to our side and express 
to them, as this Senate did by a 97-to-2 vote, that we are committed to 
NATO and that if one of us is attacked, all of us are attacked. In 
fact, almost all of us are under attack right now.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  I yield the floor
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I wish to start by thanking my 
colleague from Connecticut for his words today and for his leadership 
in protecting the integrity of our democracy and the rule of law.
  When it comes to issues of national security and foreign policy, we 
have had many vigorous debates in this country over the decades and 
many important debates here on the floor of this Senate. There have 
been deep disagreements over specific foreign policy choices that we 
make as a country. But there has consistently been broad bipartisan 
support for the view that the United States and strong U.S. leadership 
benefit not only our interests but the interests of folks around the 
world. That has been American leadership grounded in key values and 
principles, including the promotion of democracy, universal human 
rights, the rule of law, a free press, and the idea that America is an 
exceptional nation based not on tribalism but a beacon of hope for all 
people, as symbolized by the Statue of Liberty. This isn't to say that 
over the decades we have always been virtuous or always consistent in 
the application of these principles. We all know we have made many 
mistakes and detours along the way, but until now, until this moment in 
our history, the principles and values I outlined have been the 
guideposts and cornerstones for American Presidents--Republicans and 
Democrats alike--since the end of World War II.

  With those guideposts, we have built some very important 
international architecture: our alliances, international institutions, 
and international agreements. But today, sadly, we have a President who 
has gone absolutely rogue on the time-tested bipartisan tenets of 
American foreign policy, whether it is the way he attacks or berates 
our allies or when he consistently goes out of his way to praise 
dictators like Vladimir Putin or Kim Jong Un or other autocrats around 
the world.
  I am not going to take the time today to chronicle the mountain of 
evidence leading up to the events of last week that show already 
President Trump's radical retreat from the kind of global leadership 
that America has exercised since the end of World War II. We all know 
that those views are shared by many of our Republican Senate 
colleagues. Senator McCain has been very strong on that, as have other 
Republican Senators. Others have said quietly what Senator McCain has 
said publicly. This is a moment where everybody has to come together as 
patriots, not partisans.
  Including Senator McCain, we have a lot of Republican foreign policy 
experts and independent groups, like Freedom House, that have raised 
the alarm bells about this administration's far-reaching attacks on 
fundamental institutions of democratic society, like freedom of the 
press.
  One thing we all know is this: We know the words and actions of an 
American President have real-world consequences. Those of President 
Trump leave our friends unsure if they can depend on us and create 
openings and opportunities for our adversaries. They weaken our 
credibility and squander our moral authority on the world stage.
  Of course, the events of last week and yesterday are the ultimate 
expression of this President's retreat from that bipartisan tradition 
of American foreign policy--first, going to a NATO meeting and berating 
some of our closest allies. All of us understand that each of our NATO 
allies needs to fully contribute to NATO. In fact, these countries have 
already made that commitment, but President Trump threw them under the 
bus and diminished the importance of the NATO alliance.
  Then, of course, he went directly from there to his meeting with 
President Putin, but before that meeting, the President let us know 
what his state of mind was. The President tweeted out: ``Our 
relationship with

[[Page S4992]]

Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness . 
. .''--not Russia's invasion or occupation of Crimea, not Russian 
aggression in the Ukraine, not Russian activities around the world that 
undermine peace and stability, and not Russia's attack on our democracy 
in the 2016 elections.
  In fact, shortly before he went to meet with Putin, he again invoked 
a Stalinist expression, where he said: ``Much of our news media is 
indeed the enemy of the people.'' That is something I am sure warmed 
the heart of Vladimir Putin, who doesn't like any criticism, like our 
President doesn't like any criticism.
  Then he went in to this meeting and came out in that joint press 
conference. What did he do? Standing side by side with Vladimir Putin, 
he told the world that he sided with Putin over the leaders of the 
American intelligence community on the question of whether or not 
Russia interfered in the American elections in 2016. He said: President 
Putin assures me that they did not interfere. He says it very strongly.
  Then, he sided with President Putin over his own director of the CIA, 
who has testified before Congress about Russian interference in 2016, 
over Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, over Secretary of 
State Pompeo, and over the very people President Trump said all of us 
should trust in these important positions of responsibility. Yet, on a 
world stage, he bowed to President Putin and said he trusted President 
Putin's word over that of U.S. intelligence. I understand that today he 
is trying to walk this back. He actually tweeted:

       While I had a great meeting with NATO . . . I had an even 
     better meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia. Sadly, it is 
     not being reported that way--the Fake News is going Crazy!

  The challenge President Trump has this time is that we all watched 
that press conference. The world saw it. So really, the question now 
for us here in the Senate--Republicans and Democrats alike--is this: 
What are we going to do? What are we going to do now that the President 
of the United States has taken this position, undermining the 
credibility of his own country?
  We were worried before the President went to the NATO meeting, and we 
passed a resolution here--that was a good thing--affirming our support 
for NATO. Last year, over the objections of the Trump administration, 
we passed legislation imposing sanctions on Russia.
  Now we have to come together, as Senates have before--Republicans and 
Democrats--to send a very strong signal that the United States stands 
together in support of the bipartisan principles we have stood for 
before.
  We now know the President will not defend the integrity of our 
democratic process. We need to do it, and my colleagues have outlined 
many steps we should take. One step we should take is directly related 
to future elections, because what we know from the testimony of the 
head of the CIA, the head of the DNI, and the Secretary of State is 
that they all expect Russia--unless something changes--to interfere in 
our 2018 and future elections.
  The 2018 elections are 16 weeks away. We now know the President of 
the United States is not going to defend the integrity of the 
democratic process. So we have to do it. One of the many things we 
should do is to support legislation I have introduced together with 
Senator Rubio, bipartisan legislation. It is very clear. It says to 
Vladimir Putin: If you interfere in another U.S. election and we catch 
you, Russia will automatically face very stiff sanctions to your energy 
sector and your banking sector, and there will be a huge price to pay. 
It is called the DETER Act. The whole idea is to make sure that 
Vladimir Putin knows that the cost of interfering in our elections far 
outweigh any benefit he may think he gets.
  So I hope we will stand together as Republicans and Democrats to do 
what the President of the United States will not do, and that is to 
protect the integrity of our elections. Let's learn from the past. 
Let's work together for the future.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, just yesterday the world watched as 
President Trump, standing in front of the American flag, side by side 
with Vladimir Putin, not only betrayed the dedication of the men and 
women of the U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities but then 
showered praise upon the Russian President--the man who directed the 
interference of our elections.
  This prompted outcry from Members on both sides of the aisle, as it 
should. I read statements from my colleagues that were very strong in 
condemning President Trump for putting Russia ahead of the United 
States, using terms like ``shameful'' and ``disgraceful,'' and not just 
from Republicans who bravely stood up to this President before. I heard 
from Members of Congress and even from some FOX News contributors, 
unable to twist themselves into defending this President at this 
moment, as he so clearly undercut our own country. I am glad they spoke 
up because words matter.
  But do you know what also matters? Action. So now, I ask: What will 
congressional Republicans do about it? Many Republican Members of 
Congress are acting as if they just have a Twitter feed, as if they 
aren't the party in control of the Senate and the House, as if they 
don't have the ability to actually make a difference and demand change. 
That is absurd.
  The time for handwringing and hoping the problem goes away is over. 
With the power to call up legislation and hold hearings, Republican 
leaders do have options, and they certainly have a whole lot of 
Democrats who stand ready and willing to help.
  It is truly horrifying and deeply alarming that President Trump 
failed to use that moment to push President Putin to end his attacks on 
our country and our elections, and he failed to condemn the Kremlin's 
interference in the elections of our allies; or Putin's support of the 
brutal Assad regime and connections to chemical weapons attacks by the 
Syrian Government; or the illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimean 
peninsula; or the 2014 downing of MH17 over Ukraine, where 295 people 
were killed; or the murder of journalists and opposition politicians; 
or the use of chemical weapons; or the undemocratic authoritarian and 
oppressive rule of the Putin regime and how it actively works against 
our American principles.
  Instead of standing up for our values and our national security, our 
President defended Putin on all fronts. Instead of putting America 
first, he performed Putin's bidding by attacking our closest allies and 
trying to dismantle NATO.
  Today, I know President Trump tried desperately to backtrack, but we 
know where he stands, and we all heard what he said on the world stage 
just yesterday. It is appalling, inexcusable, and unworthy of the 
President.
  So my message to every Member of the Senate and to every Member of 
the other body is clear. It is time to strengthen the sanctions against 
Russia for its aggression around the world and to demand answers from 
Secretary Pompeo and the other members of the Trump national security 
team, especially about what the President may have promised Putin 
during their closed-door meeting, and for them to provide Congress--all 
of us--with any notes from the meeting that may exist.
  We need them to stand up for and protect the Department of Justice, 
the FBI, and the special counsel; to insist that the President demand 
the extradition of the 12 Russians indicted for their attacks on our 
elections; and to pass election security legislation.
  This is not a partisan issue. This is about defending the integrity 
and foundational values of our Nation. This is about Congress doing its 
constitutional job and holding the President accountable for his 
shocking and repeated failures. This is about telling our allies around 
the world that they can still depend on the United States. This is 
about putting the country before the party.
  Stand not just with Democrats. Stand with people across the country 
by taking action to hold Russia accountable and to protect this country 
from future attacks. Ask President Trump why he is choosing to defend 
Russia and blame America, and ask what or who is motivating him, 
because it certainly is not the American people, our security, our 
values, or our future.
  I yield the floor.

[[Page S4993]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to see President Trump's 
clarification today. The Russians did meddle in our election. That is 
the consensus not just of the intelligence community, but it is the 
consensus here among our own Intelligence Committees of the House and 
Senate, led by Republicans.
  I will say that Congress has pushed pretty hard against some of the 
Russian activity, not just the meddling but the illegal annexation of 
Crimea and Russia's continued support of the Assad regime in Syria, 
which has caused so much pain and agony. We have passed historic 
sanctions around here on Russia. Should we have additional sanctions? I 
am certainly open to that, but it is not as if Congress has not acted.
  We have also provided, for the first time ever, lethal weapons to the 
Ukrainians to be able to push back on the eastern border of Ukraine. I 
pleaded with the Obama administration to provide such weapons, and they 
never did, and this administration has done so despite protestations 
from Russia.
  We just funded $350 million or so to protect our electoral security 
here in this country and to help our State boards of election to be 
able to push back against what I am concerned about, which would be 
interference in yet another election cycle in this country. I am glad 
that was a bipartisan effort to do so. We have also built up our 
military, including putting more resources into Central and Eastern 
Europe and more exercises there to push back, including up-armoring our 
armored vehicles there because of the threat we now believe is coming 
from Russia, not just on the eastern border of Ukraine but throughout 
eastern Central Europe.

  This administration has actually expelled more Russian diplomats, I 
think, than any administration at once, at least. In reaction to the 
poisoning in the UK, we expelled more diplomats than any other country. 
We also shut down a Russian consulate, I believe, in the State of the 
colleague who just spoke, and these are all things that have happened.
  The irony is, the actions speak pretty loudly, don't they? It is 
unfortunate that our words have not spoken as loudly recently.
  Again, I appreciate the President's clarification today. I think we 
need to be honest. We need to be straightforward, and that would result 
in a better relationship with Russia.