LANGEVIN CALLS FOR JOINT COMMITTEE INVESTIGATION INTO RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

Bipartisan, Bicameral Joint Committee Would Cut Jurisdictional Red Tape

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), a senior member of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees, and the co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, today introduced a resolution that would create a bipartisan, bicameral Joint Committee to investigate the Russian election hacks and Russian contact with the Trump campaign and Administration.

“The Russian attempts to interfere with the 2016 elections were an unprecedented attack on the fundamental right of our democracy – the right to vote – and cannot go unchecked. The cyber attack on the Democratic National Committee demands a full investigation, as does any illicit contact between the Russian government and the Administration,” said Langevin. “Our need to act is particularly urgent, given the recent revelations surrounding conversations between former National Security Advisor, General Michael Flynn, and envoys from the Russian Federation, and the Administration’s subsequent refusal to address this issue, potentially for weeks.”

Three Senate Committees and one House Committee currently have active investigations into Russian interference in the election and in the Administration. In a letter to his colleagues, Langevin writes that “we cannot allow a fractionalized process to prevent a Congressional assessment that fully reflects the range of anti-democratic behaviors carried out by the Russians.” The Joint Committee would have the ability to investigate Russian actions and intentions and would also make recommendations on how to improve American resilience.

“Rather than launch multiple time-consuming and costly investigations, none of which would encompass the complete scope of Russian activity, we should direct our efforts and resources into a single, bipartisan Joint Committee with the power to cut cross across jurisdictional lines and get to the truth,” said Langevin. “The American people have a right to know, and the sanctity of our democracy depends on it.”