Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
January 9, 2018

Pelosi Remarks at Press Conference on House Republicans’ Refusal to Fully Investigate Russia’s Threat to Our Democracy and National Security

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi joined Ranking Members Eliot Engel, Maxine Waters, Jerrold Nadler, and Bennie Thompson, as well as Vice Ranking Member Gerry Connolly at a press conference to highlight House Republicans’ refusal to fully investigate and address Russia’s threat to our democracy and national security.  Below are the Leader’s remarks:

Leader Pelosi.  Good afternoon.  As Members of Congress, we proudly take an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution and protect the American people.  One year ago, that oath was tested when the U.S. Intelligence community concluded that Russia interfered in [the] 2016 elections and will do so again.  One year ago, today, the community made that revelation.  Since then, more information about the scale of Russia’s rising threat to our democracy has emerged.  The unprecedented attack requires a whole-of-government response.

The American people deserve a comprehensive and fair investigation on the totality of the Russian attack on our electoral system.  The Republican-controlled House continues to block Democrats’ efforts to investigate the attack.  Last week, I sent a letter calling on Speaker Ryan to allow the Intelligence Committee to continue its investigation, but received no response.

To date, the House has only held one full committee public hearing on the most significant finding of the report: the continued vulnerability of our elections to foreign interference.  House Republicans must show real leadership and join Democrats to find answers to the multitude of vital unanswered questions.  Nothing less than the strength and integrity of American democracy and national security are at stake.  And that is what we take an oath of office to support and defend: our constitution and the American people.

I’m very pleased to be joined here this afternoon by the leadership of the committees of jurisdiction. I’m going to yield now to Representative [Bennie] Thompson and thank him, as Ranking Member of Homeland Security, former Chair of that Committee, for his great leadership in protecting our electoral system and protecting our homeland security.  Mr. Thompson.

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I thank our distinguished Ranking Member, the Ranking Members of the Committees of Jurisdiction of – as we have discussed, Congressman Engel of New York, the Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Congressman Nadler of New York, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee; Congresswoman Maxine Walters of California, the Ranking Member on the Financial Services Committee; Congressman Benny Thompson, as I mentioned, [the] Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee. Elijah Cummings isn’t with us but he joined our colleagues in signing a letter and instead we had the Vice-Ranking Member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee Gerry Connolly who is also a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
They were joined by Congressman Bob Brady, Ranking Member of the House Administration Committee, in sending a letter to the Speaker, and in the letter they ask for and they say, ‘We are extremely concerned by the Intelligence Community’s warning that Russia may attempt to interfere with future elections, including the upcoming midterm elections. and we are deeply troubled by the lack of action by the Trump Administration and the House Republicans in responding to this core threat to our democracy.’

I thank them for sending that letter, asking for action and in the letter they say, ‘As members we take a solemn oath to support and defend the constitution and protect the American people. The failure of House Republicans to take strong and swift action in the face of Russia’s assault on our democracy is beneath the dignity of this oath. The strength and integrity of our democracy, the rule of law and our democratic institutions hang in the balance.’

And hence, they ask for action and I thank them for their leadership on their committees and for their presentations today and I am sure they will be pleased to take any questions that you may have on this subject.

Q:  How hopeful are you that Ryan will respond to your call to action if you had to put a number to it?
Leader Pelosi.  On a score of what to what?
[Laughter]

Leader Pelosi.  Well we haven’t heard yet but the purpose of our coming together today and this week, one year since the Intelligence Committee put forth this challenge.  I have no doubt that if the Democrats were in power we would have taken action to protect our electoral system, I have no doubt if the Democrats were in power the Republicans would be urging that action but that’s not what they’re doing.

And as Congresswoman Waters said, for some reason they are protecting the President.  And we just want to get the facts.  This is only about getting the facts about our election so we can protect them.

I hope that the odds are very high that the Speaker would respond and I hope that the pubic visibility of the letter that our colleagues have sent and the actions that the American people are calling for will motivate him to respond in a positive way and honor his oath of office to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Letter to Speaker Ryan from Ranking Committee Members

January 9, 2018

The Honorable Paul D. Ryan
Speaker of the House of Representatives
H-232, United States Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
 
Dear Mr. Speaker:
 
January 6th marked one year since the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released its ominous report documenting Russia’s multifaceted campaign to interfere in the 2016 elections and warning that Russia is likely to do it again.
 
Over the past year, our nation has learned more about the breadth and magnitude of Russia’s growing threat against our democracy and our national security.  We now know that Russia used its influence to help elect Donald Trump, sought to interfere in at least 21 state elections, executed a propaganda campaign to manipulate and sow discord among the American people, and hacked our nation’s critical infrastructure, including U.S. electricity grids. 
 
Since then, President Trump’s former National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, and the President’s former campaign policy adviser, George Papadopoulos, both have pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about their contacts with Russia.  President Trump also fired James Comey, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, because he continued to investigate the “Russia thing” while refusing to pledge his loyalty to President Trump.
 
Russia’s aggression towards the United States and the Trump Administration’s efforts to cover up its communications with the Russians demand an immediate, whole-of-government response. Yet, Republican House leaders and Committee Chairmen have blocked, stonewalled, and rejected our basic requests to investigate, hold public hearings, and advance legislation to address these matters.  House Republicans have chosen to put President Trump ahead of our national interests.
 
Rather than pursue the truth on behalf of the American people, House Republicans have waged an aggressive campaign to shut down congressional and criminal investigations into Russia’s attack, they have launched and re-launched investigations into baseless conspiracy theories to deflect attention and resources, they have defamed our nation’s top law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and they have sought to discredit anyone seeking to uncover wrongdoing, including Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a decorated war veteran.
 
To date, the House has held only one full committee public hearing on the most significant finding of the ODNI report:  that our elections continue to be vulnerable to foreign interference in the future.  Instead, they have relegated this issue to a handful of toothless subcommittee hearings, which have been marked by the Trump Administration’s refusal to provide documents requested by Democrats that would help inform our work, such as documents relating to Russia’s attempted attacks against 21 state election systems that are currently being withheld by the Department of Homeland Security.  Our country, our democracy, and the American public deserve better.
 
As Members of Congress, we take a solemn oath to support and defend the Constitution and protect the American people.  The failure of House Republicans to take strong and swift action in the face of Russia’s assault on our democracy is beneath the dignity of this oath.  The strength and integrity of our democracy, the rule of law, and our democratic institutions hang in the balance.
 
We ask you to change course and begin demonstrating true leadership on this critical national security issue.  We request that House Republicans join us in fulfilling our sworn constitutional duty by ensuring that each committee of jurisdiction thoroughly investigates the following key questions:
 
  • How were Russian hackers able to penetrate our state election systems, and how do we protect our elections infrastructure in advance of upcoming elections this year and beyond?
 
  • What vulnerabilities remain in our electrical grids and infrastructure networks, and what can we be doing to ensure our safety and security?
 
  • How was social media leveraged to influence voters, and what can be done to ensure that American voters know where their information is coming from?
 
  • What was the extent of the Trump campaign’s involvement in Russia’s operation to hack and disseminate material damaging to Hillary Clinton?
 
  • In light of President Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns, what is the extent of his and his family’s business and financial ties to Russians, and how might those ties constitute leverage over the President and his family?
 
  • In light of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ testimony in October that the Trump Administration is not doing enough to stop future Russian interference and that “the matter is so complex that for most of us we are not able to fully grasp the technical dangers that are out there,” what steps has the Trump Administration taken to hold Russia accountable for its attack and ensure the safety of our elections from foreign interference?
 
  • Why is the Trump Administration dragging its feet on implementing the sanctions against Russia that were adopted by Congress with widespread bipartisan support?
 
  • What are the extent and nature of efforts by the Trump Administration to impede criminal and congressional investigations into the Trump campaign’s involvement and support for Russian interference into our elections?
 
We are extremely concerned by the Intelligence Community’s warning that Russia may attempt to interfere with future elections—including the upcoming midterm elections—and we are deeply troubled by the lack of action by the Trump Administration and House Republicans in responding to this core threat to our democracy.
 
We ask you to review this request and to schedule a meeting with leaders of both parties so we may work together to respond to the matters of serious concern raised in this letter.  Thank you for your consideration of these requests.
 
Sincerely,

 

Congressman Eliot Engel,
Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee

 

 

Congresswoman Maxine Waters,
Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee

 

 

Congressman Jerrold Nadler,
Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee

 

 

Congressman Bennie Thompson,
Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee

 

 

Congressman Elijah Cummings,
Ranking Member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee

 

Congressman Robert Brady,
Ranking Member of the House Administration Committee