[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

[[Page S2702]]

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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