Lebanese Ministry of Information
Senators say Trump has ignored threat to security and have called for new sanctions
Senate Democrats accused President Donald Trump of failing to address the rising threat posed by Russian meddling in western democracies, calling on Wednesday for new sanctions and a US-led global response.
“Never before has a US president so clearly ignored such a grave and growing threat to US national security,” they said in their lengthy report, which argues US midterm elections in November and the 2020 presidential polls are at risk of Kremlin interference.
The report details operations by Moscow aimed at subverting elections throughout Europe and the US, saying Russia has updated a Soviet-era playbook with sophisticated new approaches including cyber attacks and support for fringe political groups.
“While President Trump stands practically idle, [Russian president] Mr Putin continues to refine his asymmetric arsenal,” said Ben Cardin, top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who commissioned the report, arguing that Mr Trump’s public stance has created a dangerous leadership vacuum.
The effort highlights Congressional frustration that Mr Trump denies Moscow intervened to help his rise to the presidency, the day after another Democratic senator unilaterally released testimony from Glenn Simpson, whose company commissioned an unsubstantiated and explosive report into Russia’s seemingly mysterious hold over Mr Trump.
The drumbeat over Russian interference in the US elections and the politicisation of former Federal Bureau of Investigation head Robert Mueller’s inquiry has overshadowed Congressional efforts to sanction Moscow and undermined Mr Trump’s efforts to initiate warmer relations with his Russian counterpart.
Mr Trump on Wednesday dismissed accusations of collusion with Russia as a “phony cloud” hanging over his administration, saying it seemed unlikely that he would be interviewed by Mr Mueller’s team.
He added it was “much better” to work with Russia and that he was determined to boost US energy exports and expand America’s military strength even though it irked Mr Putin.
While his senior administration and intelligence officials have put a spotlight on Kremlin actions, Mr Trump has only periodically hinted at the threat emanating from Moscow. In December, launching his administration’s hawkish national security strategy, he labelled Russia as a “rival” power that challenges US influence, values and wealth.
Stronger administration condemnation has fallen to others such as General HR McMaster, Mr Trump’s national security adviser, who said last month that Russia was undermining the international order, saying his views reflect those of the president.
“We’re facing a threat from Russia that involves also so-called new-generation warfare and these are very sophisticated campaigns of subversion and disinformation and propaganda using cyber tools operating across multiple domains,” he said, adding Russia was seeking to foment domestic discord in the US.
The senate intelligence committee has yet to publish its inquiry into Russia’s role during the 2016 election and bipartisan efforts in the senate judiciary committee have fractured.
Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the senate judiciary committee, on Tuesday unilaterally released the previously confidential 10-hour transcript of Mr Simpson’s August testimony to the ire of fellow Republican committee members and Mr Trump.
A self-confessed “document hound” who nursed a 10-year obsession with Russian kleptocracy, Mr Simpson said he was so concerned Mr Trump might be the subject of a political conspiracy orchestrated by Russia that he supported informing the FBI.
“[T]o me this was like, you know, you’re driving to work and you see something happen and you call 911, right,” said Mr Simpson, raising the concern Mr Trump was susceptible to blackmail.
The effort by the Democrats’ Mr Cardin seeks to garner support for sanctions and stir Mr Trump to spearhead a global effort ranged against Russia, recommending the US host a summit and produce an annual report on Russian meddling, expose “Kremlin-linked dirty money” and extract more transparency from social media companies who spread Russian propaganda.
The report also suggests the US can help Europeans stave off Russian interference by giving them support to build democratic institutions, a suggestion at odds with Mr Trump’s non-interventionist foreign policy stance.
Financial Times
