[Peace-discuss] Dick Durbin: "Russian strongman"

[David Green]

 Fellow Illinoisan, Last Friday, America achieved what so many nations have failed to do – peacefully transition to new leadership. It’s tradition that is more than 200 years old. That’s worth celebrating. That’s democracy.  But what if an election is about something other than two opposing American political parties? What happens when we’re presented with proof that the leader of a hostile foreign government – a former KGB official in fact – personally directed cyberattacks against our democracy and tried to influence the election to further his country’s interests?   Click here to watch me speak on the U.S. Senate floor on the attempt by Russian hackers to influence the 2016 election.   Our intelligence community recently issued a damning and highly detailed assessment concluding that Russian strongman Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on our nation’s electoral system to sow mistrust and favor one candidate over another. I have read the public and classified versions as well as attended a recent classified briefing on the findings. And I can tell you that the evidence is overwhelming and deeply troubling. This is bigger than one election or one man. This is about our national security and should be taken seriously by the President of the United States. It is time for my Republican colleagues to put country before party and our national security interests ahead of any one person or one President. I am calling for a bipartisan independent commission of public officials and private citizens with subpoena power to investigate. Such a commission could be led by people the American people trust, like General Colin Powell and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor – people of unquestionable integrity who will make the right finding for America and not for any political reasons. If we are going to have a comprehensive, credible investigation it must also have resources, time, adequate staff, and adequate authority. In the end, the American people deserve the truth. The stakes are simply too high to ignore.  
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