WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on the summit between President Trump and President Putin in Helsinki.
“First, President Trump’s refusal to strongly and publicly hold Putin and Russia accountable for attacking our 2016 election, propping up the murderous Assad regime, and illegally invading Crimea was a historic failure of leadership that will have lasting consequences for national and global security,” said Senator Coons.
“Second, President Trump was given a choice between backing the U.S. law enforcement and intelligence communities or siding with Vladimir Putin. He picked Putin. President Trump repeated the lie that Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation into Russian attacks on our election is a ‘witch hunt,’ and he did it while standing next to Putin. That is both alarming and unacceptable.
“Today’s summit and press conference should be an unmistakable call to members of Congress. We must reassert our responsibility for security and the rule of law in the United States. We should, in a bipartisan way, reaffirm that we will not accept Russia’s lawless attacks on our country and our allies, and we should pass bipartisan legislation to ensure that the President cannot end or interfere with the Special Counsel’s investigation.”
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