Democrats punch back on Russia
Democrats are increasingly tired of waiting on their colleagues in the majority to act and are taking their concerns public.
By ELANA SCHOR 01/10/2018 06:00 AM EST
Democrats are going on the offensive on Russia. The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday ramped up pressure on the Trump administration to slap new sanctions on Russia, releasing a massive report — written without GOP involvement — that details President Vladimir Putin’s alleged electoral meddling around the world.
That came one day after another senior Democratic senator abruptly released the transcript of an interview with a key player in the investigation looking into any ties between President Donald Trump and Russia's interference.
And across the Capitol, a half-dozen House Democrats banded together to push Republicans for a more comprehensive response to Russian disruption of the 2016 election, warning that Moscow will again meddle with the democratic process.
Democrats, frustrated by conservative attempts to undercut the investigation into Trump’s ties to Moscow and growing convinced that Republicans aren’t taking electoral security seriously, are increasingly tired of waiting on their colleagues in the majority to act and are taking their concerns public.
“We must counter Russia’s well-established election interference playbook,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said in a floor speech billed as puncturing “partisan efforts to deflect attention and distract from critical inquiries” into Moscow’s attempts to upend the 2016 election.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/10/russia-democrats-trump-putin-332108
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