[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 122 (Thursday, July 19, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5080-S5082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRUMP-PUTIN SUMMIT
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, in the 3 days since the President
returned from his humiliating display of obsequiousness in Helsinki, he
has offered numerous explanations for his behavior.
First, he said the media was too focused on the negative and that his
summit with Putin was a great success. Then, admitting there was, in
fact, a problem, he attempted to walk
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back some of his comments, but even he couldn't commit to that and ad-
libbed that other people could also have been responsible for
interfering in the 2016 elections. A mere 24 hours later, the President
was back to claiming it was not his fault and that the media was
biased.
Then, astoundingly--the President not having learned his lesson--when
he was asked yesterday whether Russia was still attacking our election
system, the President replied ``no.'' This was, of course, followed by
yet another implausible clarification when--surprise--his Press
Secretary told reporters that was not what the President meant.
Although, when you actually look at the tape, it is clear as a bell it
is what the President meant. He was saying Russia was not still
attacking our election system--once again, disbelieving all of the fine
men and women who have reported this, who labor quietly, diligently in
our intelligence agencies.
The constantly shifting, insincere, and thoroughly unconvincing
explanations for the President's performance reveal that the President
and his team do not understand the depth of President Trump's blunders
with Putin. Frankly, any post hoc clarification cannot substitute for
or repair the President's failure to confront Putin face-to-face. All
of his walk backs, which then get undone, are done in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
Where is this man who prides himself on being strong but is then
afraid to say these things to Putin and has to wait until he is 6,000
miles away to say them? It is unbelievable.
One of the most stunning things about the summit was the President's
openness to a request by President Putin to question former U.S.
Ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul and other Americans. In Helsinki,
the President described the request as part of an ``incredible offer.''
The President's spokeswoman was asked about it yesterday. She confirmed
the President and his team would discuss it.
That President Trump would even consider handing over a former U.S.
Ambassador to Putin and his cronies for interrogation is bewildering.
No President should have the power to gift wrap American citizens, let
alone former Ambassadors, to our known adversaries. How can President
Trump and his team spend even a moment considering Putin's request? How
can they equate the democracy and rule of law and system of open and
fair prosecution we have in this country with what Putin does? It is
just amazing.
Every day, this President demeans the United States. So many
Americans are saying they are ashamed to have him as their leader when
he behaves like this.
Certainly, if the President were to agree to such a request, Congress
must do everything in its power to block it. There can be no room for
debate, no room for discussion. We must be clear--and clear quickly.
This morning, Senator Menendez, Senator Schatz, and I plan to offer a
simple resolution that states: ``It is the sense of Congress that the
United States should refuse to make available any current or former
diplomat, civil servant, political appointee, law enforcement official,
or member of the Armed Forces of the United States for questioning by
the government of Vladimir Putin.'' This body must agree on the
importance of protecting our Ambassadors. We should pass it today, not
wait, not show any equivocation.
This incredible offer, as President Trump so casually and incorrectly
called it, raises other serious questions. What else has President
Trump agreed to behind closed doors? What else has he discussed with
President Putin? President Trump and President Putin met for nearly 2
hours behind closed doors. No one else was present but a translator,
and hardly anyone knows what was said.
Has Secretary Pompeo been briefed on that private, behind-closed-
doors meeting? Nobody knows. He hasn't said so. Does our military know
if President Trump made commitments about our nuclear arsenal? Nobody
knows. Defense Secretary Mattis hasn't said whether he has been
briefed. Do we know if President Trump made commitments about the
security of Israel or Syria or North Korea or about any of the other
issues the President said he discussed with Putin?
It is utterly amazing that no one knows what was said. This is a
democracy. If our President makes agreements with one of our leading--
if not our leading--adversaries, his Cabinet has to know about it and
so do the American people. These questions and more need a full and
complete accounting before Congress, in an open setting, as soon as
possible
That is why I have called on the Republican leadership to demand that
Secretary of State Pompeo, Ambassador Huntsman, and, crucially, the
translator who was present at the closed-door session be made to
testify before the Senate. They should come immediately--now. What are
our Republican friends waiting for?
The events of this week raise serious questions about the President's
ability to responsibly and safely conduct this Nation's foreign policy,
about his ability and willingness to defend the United States and her
citizens, about his very ability to govern in so many areas.
Confronted with these grave questions, I believe the Senate must act
to show our country's resolve to punish Putin for his interference and
never allow such a thing to happen again and to ensure the President is
doing what is necessary to stand up for American interests.
So I have proposed--and many of my colleagues on this side of the
aisle have proposed--a bunch of things we can do right now to take
action in the wake of President Trump's indefensible summit with
President Putin. Democrats are not in the majority. We don't control
the floor. We need our Republican colleagues, who control the Senate
floor, to join us on these measures. The lack of action--action, not
just words--by our Republican colleagues is stunning and deeply
disappointing not just to Democrats but to all of the American people.
Since Monday, sadly, we haven't seen movement from our colleagues in
the majority, just more slow-walking. I understand my friends, Senators
Coons and Flake, are working on introducing a resolution to support the
consensus of our intelligence agencies and to request congressional
oversight. We are all for it. I hope it passes with the unanimous
consent it deserves. My Republican friends can and must do more--
actions, not just resolutions and statements of disapproval. We
shouldn't need this resolution. The things asked for in this resolution
should have been happening already.
The burden of patriotism and of protecting America's security is on
Leader McConnell's shoulders. I know he has a difficult situation. I
know he has a President who can sometimes be vindictive. The bottom
line is, our country's security, our country's direction, our country's
honor demand it.
We need to bring Secretary of State Pompeo, Ambassador Huntsman, and
the rest of President Trump's national security team from Helsinki,
including the translator who was present in the one-on-one meeting with
Putin, right here before the Congress, in open session, so we all will
know what happened.
We need to pass legislation to protect Special Counsel Mueller. There
is bipartisan legislation already that was passed out of the Judiciary
Committee under Senator Grassley's leadership and support. It is on the
floor. What is our Republican leader waiting for?
We need to see the President's tax returns, which has been the common
practice of all Presidents in recent memory, but it is needed far more
now because one of the most logical explanations of the President's
obsequious and almost inexplicable actions toward President Putin is
that Putin has something on him. Maybe it would be revealed in the tax
returns, and if there is nothing there, the President should have no
problem with releasing them.
We need to implement sanctions against Russia, not weaken them. We
need to demand that Putin hand over the 12 Russians who have been
indicted for election interference. We also need to harden our election
infrastructure so that what happened in 2016 never happens again.
These are all commonsense measures, and most of them have bipartisan
support already. They will accomplish for America what the President
has been unwilling or unable to do. If my Republican colleagues refuse
to pursue any--if not all--of these items, they are de
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facto consenting to the President's capitulation in Helsinki. They
cannot stand by. The American people will not allow it.
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