Report: Meddling is a threat to 2018 vote
Document outlines ongoing attempts by Russia to influence U.S. elections
WASHINGTON – Russian President Vladimir Putin has engaged in a nearly 20-year assault on democratic institutions in Russia and on U.S. allies in Europe, and poses a threat to future American elections, according to the first U.S. government report to address the issue.
The report, produced by the Democratic staff on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, alleges a range of aggressive Russian behavior abroad that employs military invasions, cyberattacks, disinformation, support for fringe political groups and the manipulation of energy resources, organized crime and corruption across Europe.
“If the United States fails to work with urgency to address this complex and growing threat, the regime in Moscow will become further emboldened,” the report said. “It will continue to develop and refine its arsenal to use on democracies around the world, including against U.S. elections in 2018 and 2020.”
The 206-page document makes only a passing reference to Russia’s role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, which is still under several investigations by the Republican-controlled Senate and House of Representatives.
Former FBI director Robert Mueller, who is investigating whether there was any collusion between candidate Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russian officials, has charged four former Trump aides, and is expected soon to seek an interview with the president.
Democratic committee staffers who presented the report to journalists Tuesday said the document shows that what happened in 2016 was not an isolated incident.
Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, called on Trump to lead the charge against Russia. “When you attack a country you’re not at war with, that’s an act of war,” Cardin said.
He said the president has ignored the Russian threat. “The current president of the United States has barely acknowledged the threat,” Cardin said. “Never before has a U.S. president ignored such a clear and present threat.”
Trump on Wednesday assailed the Russia investigation as a distraction, a waste of time and a “witch hunt” — and called on Congressional Republicans to do something about it.
“The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues,” Trump tweeted. “There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes.”
“Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control!” he said.
Republicans, who control the House and Senate, are leading three investigations into Russia’s interference in the election and possible collusion with Trump associates.
Micah Johnson, communications director for the foreign relations committee Chairman Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said the committee received the Democrats’ report and will review it, but “no further full committee activity is planned at this time.”
The Russian president and his administration have denied any meddling in such things as the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
The Democratic report describes how Putin has used a combination of propaganda and suppression to maintain public support for Russia’s wars abroad, and how he used a range of similar techniques abroad.