[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 8, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2708-S2709]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Mueller Report

  We all know that Leader McConnell would like to move on from the 
Mueller report. We know that he and many Senate Republicans are ready 
to say ``case closed.'' We all know that whether he has been bamboozled 
by, afraid of, worried about, or simply enamored with President Trump, 
Leader McConnell would prefer to sweep the entire report under the rug. 
So, yesterday, Leader McConnell's speech here on the Senate floor 
struck me as an impassioned bit of wishful thinking that I believe the 
leader will regret in later days that he gave.
  I am sure President Nixon wished that the investigations into 
Watergate would simply go away, just as I am sure President Trump wants 
Mueller's investigations to fade into the background, but in the first 
case--President Nixon--we had courageous Republicans who put the rule 
of law above simple fealty to a President, and they resisted. 
Unfortunately, thus far, Leader McConnell has shown none of that 
nobility and strength. He is simply going along with President Trump.

  Just for a moment, though, let us set aside the discussion about the 
President's repeated attempts to obstruct the Federal investigation. 
Let's just talk about the conclusions Mueller came to about election 
interference in 2016, separate from his views of the investigation of 
Trump.
  Does Leader McConnell agree that election security is a serious and 
ongoing challenge? Does Leader McConnell agree with FBI Director Wray 
that ``2018 was a dress rehearsal'' for foreign influence campaigns 
against the United States? Does the leader agree with our intelligence 
and law enforcement officials who are warning us right now that foreign 
capitals--Russia above all but perhaps Iran and China and Turkey--are 
gearing up to try to interfere with our elections in 2020?
  This is the wellspring of our democracy. Russia may temporarily want 
to choose one candidate over another--as they chose Trump in 2016 and 
may well again--but their ultimate goal is to sow such dissension, 
worry, and lack of faith in our democracy that it could crumble. If 
everyone believes that foreigners are influencing our elections and the 
outcome isn't just, that is a terrible--terrible--step downward for 
America that none of us wants to take.
  Then why doesn't Leader McConnell at least do something about 
election security, independent of President Trump--although, those 
investigations and hearings should go on and will. If so, if Leader 
McConnell believes this foreign interference in our elections is a 
serious problem, then he has an obligation to separate himself from his 
desire to shield the President from accountability and to act on this 
national imperative to defend our democracy from insidious and foreign 
attack.
  Whatever Leader McConnell believes about the President's behavior and 
for whatever reason, there is no reason for Leader McConnell to resist 
bipartisan bills like the Secure Elections Act that would harden 
election infrastructure. There is no reason for Leader McConnell to 
oppose additional funding in the appropriations process for States to 
safeguard their election hardware. For God's sake, there is no good 
reason for Leader McConnell to resist or delay scheduling an all-
Senators briefing on election threats in 2020. The only reason to do 
that would be false.
  I hope the reason Leader McConnell is resisting strengthening and 
securing our elections is not because he believes Russia will help 
President Trump and that he is willing to let that go forward. I hope 
that is not true. There is no good reason on God's green Earth why we 
shouldn't be making our elections more secure, even though we may

[[Page S2709]]

have different views about the Mueller report.
  I urge my friend the Republican leader: Disentangle yourself from the 
self-serving desire to sweep the Mueller report and all of its findings 
under the rug. Recognize that it is indisputable that Russian 
interference is a great threat to our elections, that the Mueller 
report helped corroborate and document that, and work with us. For the 
sake of America, Leader McConnell, work with us to protect our country 
from foreign interference in our elections in the future. Do not--you 
cannot; you must not--sit on the sidelines.