Sen. Chuck Schumer Attacks Donald Trump, GOP On Russian Interference In Election
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer didn’t mince words with his latest remarks regarding possible Russian interference in the upcoming general election and the response it has elicited from President Donald Trump and Republicans in general. During an appearance on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, the New York senator said that Trump and GOP Congress members have resisted putting sanctions on Russia with the intent to curb the interference.
Schumer went on to question the president’s motivation in purportedly turning a blind eye to Russia’s efforts.
“It is absolutely true that Russia is trying to interfere from public information and public statements. And we are trying, we Democrats, are trying to stop it in the defense bill. We want to put tough sanctions on Russia, both before they do something and even more so… Chris Van Hollen has a bill — bipartisan, I believe it’s with Marco Rubio — to stop it,” he said.
“Trump is resisting. Why does Donald Trump not want to stop Russia from interfering in this election? You have to ask that question. It’s the wellspring of our democracy.”
As relayed by Politico and other outlets this week, Bill Evanina, the Director of the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said in a statement that his department has assessed that “Russia is using a range of measures to primarily denigrate former Vice President [Joe] Biden and what it sees as an anti-Russia ‘establishment.'”
Evanina further stated that those measures are consistent with Moscow’s public criticism of the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee when he served previously in the Obama administration.
He specifically alleged that Andrii Derkach, a Kremlin-linked Ukrainian lawmaker, had spread claims about corruption in an effort to undermine Trump’s November opponent, adding that others with links to Russia have sought to boost Trump’s candidacy via social media and Russian television.
During his interview with Stephanopoulos, Schumer further criticized Republican Sens. Ron Johnson and Lindsay Graham for their inquiries into Biden’s ties to Russia. It is his opinion that the hearings they are spearheading are based on false Russian intelligence on Biden.
The Senate minority leader further chastised the duo by stating his belief that they should be “ashamed of themselves” for allowing Moscow to manipulate “them and us, the American people.”
As shared previously by The Inquisitr, Trump has dismissed intelligence community findings that Russia is actively working to denigrate his electoral opponent. When asked recently about the concept, he stated that he didn’t care what anybody says and redirected to his administration’s actions to strengthen the military and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
