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Will Hurd, GOP Congressman and ex-CIA officer: Trump is being manipulatd by Putin
NYT op-ed tonight. This was mentioned on Brian Williams' show.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/opinion/trump-russia-putin-republican-congress.html
Over the course of my career as an undercover officer in the C.I.A., I saw Russian intelligence manipulate many people. I never thought I would see the day when an American president would be one of them.
The president’s failure to defend the United States intelligence community’s unanimous conclusions of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and condemn Russian covert counterinfluence campaigns and his standing idle on the world stage while a Russian dictator spouted lies confused many but should concern all Americans. By playing into Vladimir Putin’s hands, the leader of the free world actively participated in a Russian disinformation campaign that legitimized Russian denial and weakened the credibility of the United States to both our friends and foes abroad.
As a member of Congress, a coequal branch of government designed by our founders to provide checks and balances on the executive branch, I believe that lawmakers must fulfill our oversight duty as well as keep the American people informed of the current danger.
-snip-
Many of my constituents have asked what Congress can do to protect the American people from Russian threats and provide a check on the executive branch’s demonstration in Helsinki. If necessary, Congress should take the lead on European security issues as it has in recent years. For example, during the Obama administration, Congress repeatedly pressed the president — using the power of the purse through appropriations bills — to send lethal weaponry to assist Ukraine in its fight against Russian-backed separatists.
Last year, Congress passed the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act to impose severe sanctions on Russia as retaliation for its meddling in our presidential election. And this year, the House passed the Ukraine Cybersecurity Cooperation Act to improve Ukraine’s ability to respond to Russian-supported disinformation and propaganda efforts. I am also encouraged that the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to testify on the president’s recent meetings with both Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin.
Additionally, Congress must act to give the men and women of our intelligence agencies the tools they need to confront Moscow and prevent this from happening in the future. We can start by sending the Intelligence Authorization Act to the president’s desk, which authorizes funding to support critical national security programs across the intelligence community. It also requires regular public reports on foreign threats to federal election campaigns before those elections take place, mandatory notification to Congress within 14 days after a determination has been made with moderate or high confidence that a foreign cyberintrusion or active measures campaign to influence a federal election has taken place, and reports to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees on past and continuing Russian influence campaigns.
-snip-
The president’s failure to defend the United States intelligence community’s unanimous conclusions of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and condemn Russian covert counterinfluence campaigns and his standing idle on the world stage while a Russian dictator spouted lies confused many but should concern all Americans. By playing into Vladimir Putin’s hands, the leader of the free world actively participated in a Russian disinformation campaign that legitimized Russian denial and weakened the credibility of the United States to both our friends and foes abroad.
As a member of Congress, a coequal branch of government designed by our founders to provide checks and balances on the executive branch, I believe that lawmakers must fulfill our oversight duty as well as keep the American people informed of the current danger.
-snip-
Many of my constituents have asked what Congress can do to protect the American people from Russian threats and provide a check on the executive branch’s demonstration in Helsinki. If necessary, Congress should take the lead on European security issues as it has in recent years. For example, during the Obama administration, Congress repeatedly pressed the president — using the power of the purse through appropriations bills — to send lethal weaponry to assist Ukraine in its fight against Russian-backed separatists.
Last year, Congress passed the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act to impose severe sanctions on Russia as retaliation for its meddling in our presidential election. And this year, the House passed the Ukraine Cybersecurity Cooperation Act to improve Ukraine’s ability to respond to Russian-supported disinformation and propaganda efforts. I am also encouraged that the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to testify on the president’s recent meetings with both Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin.
Additionally, Congress must act to give the men and women of our intelligence agencies the tools they need to confront Moscow and prevent this from happening in the future. We can start by sending the Intelligence Authorization Act to the president’s desk, which authorizes funding to support critical national security programs across the intelligence community. It also requires regular public reports on foreign threats to federal election campaigns before those elections take place, mandatory notification to Congress within 14 days after a determination has been made with moderate or high confidence that a foreign cyberintrusion or active measures campaign to influence a federal election has taken place, and reports to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees on past and continuing Russian influence campaigns.
-snip-
Good ideas, but not adequate to control Trump.
And these are also ideas Congress is unlikely to act on -- especially the House.
This op-ed is most important for its clear statement that Trump is controlled by Putin, a statement coming from a Republican Congressman who worked for the CIA.
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