[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 7, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2701-S2703]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MUELLER REPORT
Mr. MENENDEZ. Madam President, I come to the floor to once again
discuss U.S. policy toward the Russian Federation. I fear this body is
in the grips of a paralysis that has rendered us flat-footed in the
face of a multitude of threats from Russia. This is not a paralysis due
to a lack of knowledge, lack of facts, or lack of intelligence. It is a
paralysis of our politics, a paralysis born out of a lack of political
will to do what is necessary in the absence of Presidential leadership,
a lack of will to stand up for our national security, a lack of will to
defend our Democratic institutions, a lack of will to fulfill the oath
that every single Member of this Chamber swore to uphold.
The inaction from this body since the beginning of the year on Russia
has been astounding. It gives me no pleasure to think that political
considerations could be compromising the Republican majority's
willingness to respond robustly to the Russia threat, but how else can
I explain why the party of Reagan has gone missing? What force, other
than politics, can explain our failure to demand the administration
robustly respond to Russia's seizure of Ukrainian ships in the Kerch
Strait in the high seas in international waters? What force other than
politics can explain our feeble response to Russia's chemical attack in
the United Kingdom? What force other than politics can explain our
failure to thwart Russia's hand in Syria and allow Putin to sit back
and enjoy the political instability spawned in Europe by the resulting
migration crisis? What force other than politics can have us playing
right into Putin's hands? What force other than politics can explain
the remarks made earlier today by Majority Leader McConnell in which he
suggested that Democratic efforts to assess the full and unredacted
Mueller report are impeding the ability of this body to shore up our
election security?
Well, that is really rich. I might remind the American people that it
was the majority leader who, when presented by top intelligence
officials in the Obama administration with Russian efforts to help
President Trump's candidacy, blocked efforts to inform the public?
Look, I am not here today to talk about conspiracy or obstruction or
President Trump. Make no mistake, those issues are deeply concerning,
and contrary to the majority leader's words, the case is not closed.
The case is not closed. However, there will be other opportunities to
address these issues, and when it comes to shoring up our defenses, we
are running out of time.
So as the ranking member on the Foreign Relation Committee, I am here
to flash a red warning light about what the Mueller report means for
our national security, what it means for America's geopolitical
standing with respect to Russia, what it means for our credibility on
the world stage as Democratic institutions are attacked.
I am worried that in the face of Russian aggression, we are getting
lost, not in the fog of war but in the fog of politics, and our
inaction today will have consequences that outlast any Presidency,
haunting us for years or even decades to come.
Let's review what we know about the Russian threat and how long we
have known about it. It was over 2 years ago, in January of 2017, when
the Director of National Intelligence determined that Russia interfered
in the 2016 election. Our intelligence community released that
assessment that concluded Russia's efforts to influence the 2016
Presidential election ``demonstrated a significant escalation in
directness, level of activity, and scope of effort compared to previous
operations.''
They concluded that this attack was ordered by President Putin
himself and that ``Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear
preference for President-elect Trump.''
They concluded Russia's efforts ``[B]lend[ed] covert intelligence
operations--such as cyber activity--with overt efforts by Russian
Government agencies, state-funded media, third-party intermediaries,
and paid social media users or `trolls' to undermine our 2016
elections.''
In addition, our intelligence community warned that ``Moscow will
apply lessons learned from its Putin-ordered
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campaign aimed at the U.S. Presidential election to influence future
efforts worldwide, including against U.S. allies and their election
processes.''
That was more than 2 years ago. Today, thanks to the work of Special
Counsel Robert Mueller, we now have a more thorough understanding of
Russia's interference in 2016. While much remains redacted, the special
counsel's report describes in painstaking detail the scope of Russia's
interference and the sophistication of their tactics.
Here is what we know.
First, Russian officials interfered in the U.S. Presidential election
in support of Putin's preferred candidate and attempted to make inroads
with his campaign.
Second, the Russian Government and individuals with strong ties to
the Kremlin carried out what Mueller concluded was a ``sweeping and
systematic'' campaign to influence and sway the support of U.S. voters.
Third, the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, or known by
its acronym IRA, sought to use social media and embedded employees to
influence U.S. voters in an effort that was funded in large part by an
oligarch with known links to Putin. The IRA's malign social media
influence campaign was nothing short of, in his words, ``information
warfare.''
The Internet Research Agency employees created fake social media
personas and posed as American citizens on sites like Facebook and
Twitter. These Russian operatives were keenly aware of the politics of
division. They capitalized on sensitive social and political issues,
from immigration policy to police brutality, in an effort to divide
Americans against each other.
They targeted voters in key swing States in an effort to dissuade
certain demographics from turning out on election day. They staged real
political rallies by masquerading as activists, and they destroyed
evidence in an attempt to avoid detection and impede U.S.
investigations.
Fourth, the Mueller report confirms that Russian military
intelligence deployed ``multiple'' units to engage in ``large-scale
cyber operations to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential
election.''
Officers with the GRU, Russia's intelligence agency, hacked into
Democratic campaign networks and individual email accounts in order to
steal emails and other sensitive information. Armed with those stolen
emails, GRU officers timed the release of damaging information in order
to maximize their impact. Subsequent releases were conspicuously timed
in an apparent effort to help their preferred candidate.
Russian hackers also conducted cyber surveillance of at least 20
State election systems, and the Kremlin intended to use this
information to cast doubt on the legitimacy of a Clinton victory.
This revelation should shake us to the core because, clearly,
President Putin understands that for our democracy to work, the
American people must have faith in the results of our elections. Chip
away at that faith, and you chip away at our democracy itself.
Russian intelligence operatives, GRU operatives, also targeted
employees of a voting technology company and successfully installed
malware on their computer networks.
In a handful of States, they gained the capacity to actually
manipulate and even delete voter registration data. To top it all off,
Russian hackers successfully infiltrated the network of at least one
county government in Florida.
Finally, following the election, Putin unleashed handpicked oligarchs
to push back against anticipated U.S. sanctions. Let's remember who
these Russian oligarchs are. They are billionaires handpicked by Putin
who solidified his grip on power not only by oppressing the Russian
people but also by systematically seizing their assets and transferring
them to a select group of cronies and allies through business dealings,
real estate transactions, shares of companies, shell corporations,
money laundering, and more.
These oligarchs act as an extension of Putin's power. They advance
Russia's economic influence and do Putin's bidding around the world.
According to the Mueller report, that is exactly what they did after
the 2016 election.
They reached out to the President's inner circle and members of his
transition team to begin laying the groundwork for what Putin wanted in
return for his help during the campaign--most prominently, protection
from further sanctions and relaxation of those sanctions imposed for
Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine.
This short summary of the Mueller report's findings should be
offensive to any American elected official. This short summary should
spur anyone to action to shore up the security of our elections at home
and counter Russian aggression abroad.
Indeed, just last week, FBI Director Wray warned that Russia
continues to pose a very significant counterintelligence threat. He
also said that 2018 was a dress rehearsal for the big show in 2020.
This report cries out for action. It screams for legislation, and it
demands preparation in advance of 2020.
We are in trouble, people. We can argue with each other, we can score
political points against each other, but the United States of America
remains in Russia's crosshairs, and we must act. Putin has set his
sights on us again in 2020.
The Russian Government continues to pursue the eroding of democracy
as we speak across Europe. It has partnered with dictators and war
criminals in the Middle East. In Venezuela, Putin clearly sees an
advantage in prolonging a destabilizing conflict in our hemisphere. He
and his cronies are selling arms, striking oil deals, and robbing the
Venezuelan people of future prosperity all to prop up Maduro's criminal
regime.
So while President Trump may claim that ``Putin is not looking to get
involved'' in Venezuela, we already know he is.
The Mueller report is the wake-up call of the century. It is a
clarion call to action. We must treat it as a preview of what is to
come.
We already know some of the actions that are worth taking. Senator
Graham and I have a bipartisan bill called the Defending American
Security from Kremlin Aggression Act or DASKA. I have come to this
floor to talk about it again and again, but in the wake of the Mueller
report, I wonder, where is our sense of urgency? Where is our outrage?
Where is our sense of collective responsibility? If my colleagues take
nothing else from the Mueller report, they should at least be willing
and eager to respond to what Russia did to us 2 years ago and what FBI
Director Wray tells us they will continue to do.
The Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act will
ensure our diplomats have the tools to advance our interests and stand
up to the bully in the Kremlin. The bill includes new sanctions but
also provisions designed to harden our democratic institutions and make
us less vulnerable to attack.
Our bill would improve our ability to coordinate with Europe on the
Russia challenge. It would invest in Democratic institutions in
countries most vulnerable to Kremlin aggression because we must
remember that Russia's attack in 2016 did not occur in a vacuum. It is
part of Putin's larger mission to disrupt democracies around the world
from his support for dictators from Syria and Venezuela to Russian
meddling in the political affairs of our European allies.
DASKA would also increase transparency with respect to real estate
sales in the United States that we know is a go-to strategy for Russian
oligarchs looking to launder money.
I know many of my colleagues have no interest in learning more about
the President's own business dealings with these unsavory figures and
whether those relationships influence his decision making about U.S.
foreign policy, but we should agree, at least, that we must do more to
prevent Russia from getting American businesses and leaders financially
entangled in Russia's tentacles like the NRA.
DASKA would also protect our NATO alliance. Senator Graham and I have
included an important provision that would prevent any President from
pulling the United States out of NATO without Senate approval. To pull
our Nation out of a military alliance so vital to America's security
when we could have stopped it from happening would be a tragedy fit for
the ages. A Senate vote was required to get us into the North Atlantic
treaty, it should be required in any attempt to get us out.
[[Page S2703]]
This is critical to providing a sense of security and stability to our
allies in NATO.
Finally, DASKA also includes new sanctions pressure on Moscow,
including on Russian oligarchs complicit in the spread of Russia's
malign actions. In addition, it includes increased sanctions on
Russia's energy and financial sectors.
The bill has specific sanctions on the Russian shipbuilding sector to
the extent that Russia continues to interfere with the freedom of
navigation in the Kerch Strait or anywhere else and was complicit in
the November attack.
In the final analysis, we have a few peaceful tools of diplomacy to
address malign actors around the world: the court of international
public opinion, insofar as a government or a leader in question cares
about such things; our trade and aid as an inducement to behavior
change; then there is the denial of trade or aid or access to our
financial institutions, which we call sanctions.
President Putin is willing to use his military as a means of first
resort to advance his interests. We are not. Therefore, sanctions are
our tool of peaceful diplomacy. They are how we send the message and
how we seek to defend ourselves.
Now I must state that growing up in New Jersey, I learned that if you
didn't confront the bully in the schoolyard, his reign of terror would
never end. He would create a climate of fear. He would create a climate
of intimidation until you whacked him in the head with a 2 by 4, until
you said enough is enough, until you made clear that you and your
fellow students wouldn't accept that kind of behavior. If you didn't
stand up for yourself, the bully would press ahead.
Ladies and gentlemen, that is what we have in Vladimir Putin. He will
continue to push and push until he meets resistance, until he meets a 2
by 4. That is what we have in DASKA.
We have a responsibility in this body, a responsibility shared by all
100 Senators, to protect our national security and the integrity of our
democracy. It is our most solemn responsibility. Some may not care.
Some may think we have done enough to deal with the Russian threat, but
our intelligence experts disagree, Bob Mueller disagrees, FBI Director
Wray disagrees, and clearly those living under the threat of Kremlin
aggression in Eastern Europe disagree.
This body has come together before. I have seen it. We came together
in 2017 to pass the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions
Act, or CAATSA, but since then we have struggled to get this
administration to fully implement the law. Are we supposed to just
throw up our hands and say, ``Oh, well,'' and hope they will see the
light or are we supposed to demand nothing less than rigorous
enforcement and take legislative action if needed?
I stand firmly for the latter, and I hope a majority of my colleagues
will stand with me. It is long past time we send another message to the
world and, most importantly, to the Kremlin that the Senate is prepared
to defend American interests. We will not tolerate intrusions by a
hostile foreign power. We will not leave our democratic institutions
vulnerable to further interference. We will not allow any foreign
adversary to meddle in our democracy.
The breadth of Russian interference laid out by the Mueller report
demands the kind of comprehensive foreign policy response put forward
in DASKA. The American people deserve a markup and a full vote in the
Senate to make that happen.
I will just say, as the elected leaders of this country, we owe
Americans action. We owe them fulfillment of our oath. We owe them a
robust and unflinching defense of our democracy and our values. Enough
with the delays. Enough with the excuses. Enough with the politics.
We have legislation ready to bolster our defenses. We have strong
bipartisan support for it. Let's mark up the bill now. Let's send a
clear and unequivocal message to Putin that we will not tolerate a
repeat performance in 2020.
I would just say that this is not about President Trump. It is not
about the last election other than that they attempted to influence it
and that we should recognize and want to deal with it. But it is about
preserving our national security, our democracy, and our interest in
the world.
Putin is unbridled. This institution, Republicans and Democrats, have
always joined together to meet Russia's challenge when Russia posed a
challenge. The party of Reagan is absent. The party of Reagan is absent
on this. If this had been going on during the Obama administration, I
would have been peeling people off of the Capitol ceiling.
Let's get to work. Let's defend our interests. Let's stand up
together. Let's send Putin a message. Let's defend our democracy.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Before I begin, let me say how nice it was to be with
the Presiding Officer in her home State at the McCain Institute this
weekend.
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