Washington, D.C. — Today, the Obama administration announced actions against Russia in response to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, including new sanctions and the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats. Neera Tanden, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
The Obama administration’s actions today are a necessary first step in holding Russia accountable for its interference in our electoral process. We cannot allow Russia or any other adversary to believe that they can attempt to influence our democratic process with impunity.
It is incomprehensible that President-elect Donald Trump continues to protect Russian strongman Vladimir Putin from blame despite the conclusions of the intelligence community and the substantial evidence in the public domain regarding Russia’s role. Trump’s position is practically an invitation to Russia or other hostile foreign powers to meddle in future American elections. Russia is already targeting Germany’s election next fall, and Trump is giving Putin a green light to wage similar influence operations in other European countries that also go to the polls next year.
Even with the forthcoming report President Barack Obama has ordered released on the evidence the intelligence community has collected on Russia’s actions, there is still much we do not know. The American people need an independent, bipartisan commission to examine the cyberattacks on the election and deliver a detailed public report with recommendations for how to prevent it from happening again in the future. We must be united in order to protect the integrity of our democracy.
Related resource: Moscow on the Potomac by the CAP National Security and International Policy Team
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