McCaskill Statement on President Trump's Joint Press Conference

Press Release

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement today in reaction to President Trump's statements disputing the Russian government's role in interfering in the 2016 election:

"President Trump's statements today fly in the face of the consensus of the Intelligence Community, the Director of National Intelligence, the Special Counsel, and a bipartisan investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee. I stand with my Republican colleagues who are calling out this unprecedented rebuke of our intelligence officers--most of whom are veterans of the United States military. Today's actions will only embolden the enemies of our country and erode the support of our allies."

Last year, McCaskill highlighted the incredible service, long history, and serious risks undertaken by American intelligence agents, and defended the U.S. intelligence community against disparagement in a Senate Armed Services hearing with former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

In January 2017, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report assessing with high confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Earlier this month, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence issued a bipartisan report affirming the Intelligence Community's January 2017 report as a sound intelligence product. The Senate committee's findings were the culmination of 16 months of investigation reviewing the sources, tradecraft and analytic work underpinning the Intelligence Community Assessment.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's work last week resulted in 12 indictments against Russian intelligence officials, bringing the total number of people charged in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election to more than 30.

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