McCaul Statement on Putin Summit

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee and a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement after President Trump's meeting and press conference with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.

Congressman McCaul: "I continue to stand with the U.S. Intelligence Community's assessment that Russia meddled in our 2016 Presidential election. Vladimir Putin's long-standing goals are to undermine the credibility of our democracy and to sow discord among the American people. In fact, just last week, I held a hearing to examine the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to assist state and local officials in securing our election infrastructure from outside influence. Whether illegally annexing Crimea, invading sovereign Georgian territory, propping up a murderous dictator in Syria, or barraging Estonian, European, and U.S. critical infrastructure with cyber operations, Russia continues a global destabilization campaign under Putin.

"We must not forget that last year Congress passed legislation to sanction Russia for its interference in our election, continued malicious cyberattacks, and its intervention in Ukraine. I have repeatedly warned since before the 2016 election that foreign interference in our electoral process cannot be tolerated. As we speak, our election infrastructure and democratic society are under attack. It is critical that we ensure our systems are protected and we send a clear message to Putin that there are consequences for these illegal actions."