Calls on Trump
to cancel Putin meeting
Congressman
Jim Langevin (D-RI), a senior member of the House Committees on Armed Services
and Homeland Security and the co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional
Cybersecurity Caucus, released the following statement after Special Counsel
Robert Mueller’s indictment of twelve Russian military intelligence officers
for distributing documents they had stolen from US political organizations in
an attempt to interfere with the 2016 presidential election:
“This
is the most significant hacking case the United States has ever brought against
the agents of a foreign state. Russian interference in the 2016 election struck
at the very core of our democracy, and the perpetrators must be held to
account.
“This
is another example of why Director Mueller’s investigation is so important and
must be allowed to continue.
“This
indictment is an important part of that reckoning, but it is in no way
sufficient.
“When
a nation violates the norms of responsible state behavior in cyberspace, we
must respond with all means of state power, economic, diplomatic and otherwise.
“It is simply unacceptable to use cyber means to steal and disseminate political documents with the goals of undermining faith in American democracy.
“Sadly,
the President continues to cast doubt on the facts first set forth by our
intelligence community and reiterated in today’s indictment.
“Given
these developments, the President should cancel next week’s meeting with
Vladimir Putin and work with Congress to punish Russia for its actions.
“The
indictments today continue to reinforce a clear message to America’s
adversaries who would target civilian infrastructure and processes: you will be
found out.
“Although
we are unlikely to see these Russian military intelligence agents in an
American prison anytime soon, their worlds have gotten much smaller.
“I
look forward to continuing my work in Congress to hold Russia responsible for
its actions and improve our cybersecurity posture.”
