Rep Lieu Statement on Indictment of 12 Russian Intelligence Officers for 2016 Election Hacking

Statement

Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement after the Department of Justice announced the indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers for conspiring to interfere with the 2016 election. President Trump is due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

"These indictments tell us what virtually everyone in the government, except the President and his enablers, has already known: Russia is an adversary of the United States. It is shockingly unacceptable that the President plans to meet with Vladimir Putin next week, especially in light of these indictments. He needs to cancel the meeting. Trump has a bizarre soft spot for Putin so we can expect any meeting to be inappropriately congenial even though Russia's hostility towards the U.S. is well documented. Trump cannot claim to love the U.S. while meeting with the man who is overseeing an all-out attack on America's democracy.

It is a dereliction of duty for the House Judiciary Committee to do nothing to examine this threat. Instead of stupid hearings re-litigating the Clinton email investigation, the Judiciary Committee needs to spend its time ensuring our future elections are free of Russian meddling. We should be ensuring that the Trump Administration is doing all it can to guarantee our future elections are free and fair. Otherwise, we're ceding our country to a hostile foreign power."

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