[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 198 (Wednesday, December 11, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H10028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                MR. PRESIDENT, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO HIDE?

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin 
must have been consumed with delight. President Trump chose to invite 
to the White House Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the right 
arm of Vladimir Putin.
  The American people should be on red alert, asking themselves what 
the President has to discuss with a senior leader of an adversary, in a 
meeting closed to the press and closed to the American people.
  Mr. President, what do you have to hide?
  Importantly, Mr. Lavrov is the individual that first concocted the 
Ukraine false narrative on December 1, 2016, that hid Russia's 
involvement in our elections, blaming it on Ukraine.
  It seems that this meeting is a part of a pattern of President 
Trump's disturbing behavior to cozy up to dictator Putin and his 
oligarch cronies, many of whom have invested heavily in Trump 
properties.
  Astoundingly, President Trump welcomed Russia's intervention in our 
2016 elections, and then he invited Russia back to the Group of Seven.
  He shamelessly kowtowed to Putin at the Helsinki Summit.
  And additionally, President Trump withheld critical military 
assistance and a White House meeting from the President of Ukraine, 
Volodymyr Zelensky, urging him to investigate false conspiracy theories 
about President Trump's political opponents here at home.
  Meanwhile, the President publicly and continuously derides our 
closest allies, and questions the value of NATO, for heaven's sake, the 
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the bulwark of our security as free 
people. And he embraces dictators from around the world.
  Yet, again, need I remind the President that Russia seeks to destroy 
liberty. Putin seeks to destroy critical democratic alliances, forged 
at great sacrifice, such as NATO, that have brought unprecedented 
peace, security, and prosperity to the free world, which includes us.
  In 2019, Russia illegally invaded the independent nation of Ukraine, 
leading to already over 14,000 deaths and the displacement of millions. 
Ukraine is the scrimmage line for liberty in the Transatlantic 
Alliance. Russia has been working hard to destroy that alliance, which 
is freedom's bulwark.
  Russia has sided with the barbarous Assad regime in Syria, and Russia 
conducts constant cyberattacks and misinformation campaigns to meddle 
in democratic processes, including here in our 2016 presidential 
election; and she is intent to do it again next year.
  Simply put, the enemy of liberty will stop at nothing to weaken the 
United States and our allies.
  When the American people elect their President, they expect a leader 
to champion liberty on the world stage.
  The world is watching, and so are our children. How should they 
interpret the United States rolling out the White House red carpet for 
corrupt Russian leaders, while freedom-seeking Ukrainian President 
Zelensky is still waiting for his invitation to the White House?
  Indeed, this Lavrov meeting is rather sinister. It comes at a very 
sensitive time, domestically and internationally. On the eve of the 
meeting with Mr. Lavrov, Mr. Trump continues to deride our own national 
security institutions, such as the FBI, whose investigation clearly 
proved Russia interfered with our 2016 election, and she is on task to 
do it again.
  Mr. Lavrov, himself, invented and directed the totally false 
narrative that Ukraine interfered in our election, a conspiracy theory 
spun up by the enemy of democracy himself. By siding with Russia, our 
President's behavior encourages Russia's malign behavior, while hurting 
our allies.
  Interestingly, this secretive meeting in the Oval Office comes right 
after the Normandy Format talks in France between Ukraine, Germany, 
France, and Russia, when President Zelensky successfully withstood 
Russian pressure. He did not cross any red lines that could suggest 
capitulation of Ukraine in front of Russian aggression.
  And during the Normandy meetings, thousands of freedom-loving 
Ukrainians showed up on the streets of Kyiv to show their support for 
President Zelensky and their readiness to defend their beloved 
motherland.
  So, our conclusion is what Russia couldn't achieve through the open 
channel of diplomacy, it tries to do through the channels behind closed 
doors here in our own backyard.
  Congress must demand full access to the transcript of the meeting 
between the President of our country and the Foreign Minister of Russia 
Lavrov.
  Free people deserve it.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to address their 
remarks to the Chair.

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