VIDEO: https://youtu.be/u9-4fKctL34
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall spoke on the Senate floor to renew his call for an independent, bipartisan investigation into the Russian government’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, and into possible ties between Russia and President Trump, his family businesses, or his close associates.
"The president and his associates keep giving the American people reason for worry: inaccurate denials, evasive answers, explosive attacks they can’t back up, scheming with the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee on the Committee’s investigation of the White House. New information comes to light every day,” Udall said. "That’s why I am again calling for an independent, bipartisan national commission, modeled on the 9/11 commission, to fully investigate Russia’s interference with our election and to investigate ties between the president, his family businesses or his close associates and Russia that may threaten our national security."
Below are Udall’s full remarks as prepared for delivery:
"Mr. President, our democracy is under attack. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that the Russian government interfered in the U.S. presidential election and that it interfered to help candidate Trump.
"Around the same time candidate Trump began making flattering statements about Russian President Putin and proposing pro-Russia policy changes while criticizing long-standing U.S. allies, including in Europe, President Trump continues to defend Putin and offend Western allies.
"Now we have come to learn that there are unexplained ties between Russia and the president, his campaign staff, and his associates, and that many close to the president had meetings and telephone calls with Russian officials during the campaign and the transition. Most critically, we have learned that the FBI and Department of Justice are investigating whether the president and his associates coordinated or conspired with the Russian government to interfere with the presidential election -- an investigation that began last July, and is likely to continue for months, perhaps years.
"The president and his associates keep giving the American people reason for worry: inaccurate denials, evasive answers, explosive attacks they can’t back up, scheming with the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee on the Committee’s investigation of the White House. New information comes to light every day.
"A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll issued shows that two-thirds of Americans believe a special prosecutor should be appointed. The American people want answers. What was the scope of the interference? Who knew what and when? How can we protect ourselves and our allies who are facing similar attacks? What is the appropriate government response to such an attack? I appreciate the work the Senate Intelligence Committee is doing; I believe that is a first step, but I believe we must go further.
"That’s why I am again calling for an independent, bipartisan national commission, modeled on the 9/11 commission, to fully investigate Russia’s interference with our election and to investigate ties between the president, his family businesses or his close associates and Russia that may threaten our national security. I’m also again calling on the Department of Justice to appoint a special counsel to investigate potential criminal conduct that may jeopardize our security.
"Questions about the president’s ties to Russia will divide the country, undermine his presidency, and distract Congress unless we take these steps. The American people are right to be concerned -- the president’s stance on Russia is perplexing. It started when he first denounced the role of NATO last spring, calling it 'obsolete,' suggesting that it would be ok if NATO broke up, and then publicly asking Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails last July.
"After Mr. Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort was forced to resign because of his close political and financial ties to the pro-Russian Ukraine party and its former president, he became the subject of a multi-agency investigation. We don’t have the full story, but we do know that he failed to register as a 'foreign agent' while he lobbied for pro-Russian Ukraine interests in the United States.
"It appears that Manafort had a $10 million contract with a Russian oligarch who is very close to Putin that would 'greatly benefit the Putin Government,' and that he had at least 15 offshore bank accounts in Cyprus that even Cypriot bank officials thought were suspicious. Once those bank officials began asking about money laundering activities, Manafort closed the accounts rather than answer questions.
"During his campaign, Mr. Trump stated he would 'be looking at' whether to recognize Crimea as Russian and to lift sanctions. President Trump and his team apparently took little or no interest in the debate over the party platform in the Republican National Convention, except for one thing: Ukraine. They intervened with delegates to get more Russia-friendly language in the Republican Party platform.
"Candidate Trump’s national security policy staffer J.D. Gordon told CNN, 'This was the language Donald Trump himself wanted and advocated for back in March.' Now Gordon is reportedly under investigation for his ties to Russia.
"We have all heard the president compliment President Putin, call him a strong leader. Why is the president so enamored when his actions are authoritarian, violent, and anti-democratic?
"Putin seeks to weaken NATO and the European Council. He annexed Crimea in violation of international law and treaties. He interfered with our national election. Putin has crushed free press in the Russian Federation, placing restriction upon restriction on the press, quashing independent news organizations, and harassing and jailing journalists. The president’s outspoken admiration is inexplicable.
"So, we are still left with a president who has expressed policy views toward Russia that run counter to U.S. ideals and treaty obligations, as well as global norms of international affairs. While we don’t know the full extent of the president’s financial, personal, and political ties to Russia and Putin, we have plenty of reason to seek an impartial investigation.
"The president still has not released his tax returns, unlike any previous modern president. His son Donald Jr. volunteered as far back as 2008 that, 'Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.' In 2013, Mr. Trump said on a talk show that, 'Well I’ve done a lot of business with the Russians.'
"Due to his history of bankruptcies, no major U.S. bank would loan to Donald Trump in recent years, so he has needed new sources of capital for his real estate projects. There is growing reason to believe that Russia, or at least wealthy Russians, have financial interests in the Trump Organization.
"Recent reports link the president and his companies to 10 wealthy former Soviet businessmen with alleged ties to criminal organizations or money laundering. The extent of corruption and criminal ties among the 'oligarchs' of Russia are well known, and to stay wealthy oligarchs, they must stay friendly with the Putin regime.
"Is the Trump Organization reliant on Russian capital or loans from Russian banks? What relationships are there between Russian oligarchs that are tied to the Russian government and the Trump Organization, and between those former Soviet businessmen and Trump’s properties? We need to get to the bottom of this with a credible, deliberate, non-partisan investigation.
"Mr. Trump has surrounded himself with associates with close Russian ties, not just Mr. Manafort. Michael Flynn headed to Russia within 18 months after his retirement as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Russian government’s media outlet, RT. Secretary John Kerry called RT a 'propaganda bullhorn' for Putin. Mr. Flynn was paid for that trip by RT, a potential violation of the emoluments clause, and he appeared regularly on RT.
"Flynn of course had to resign as National Security Advisor after 24 days in office, but the president knew of Flynn’s misrepresentations weeks before he was fired and did nothing until it became public. We now know that Russia’s payments to Flynn were generous. In 2015, Russian entities paid him $65,000 dollars, and we know he worked for pay as a foreign agent for Turkey during the campaign and during the transition, but failed to register as an agent at the time, as required by law.
"Other Trump associates and campaign staff – Roger Stone, Carter Page, and Mr. Gordon – all are reportedly under investigation for intercepted communications and financial transactions with Russia. Stone admitted to at least 16 contacts with Guccifer 2.0, the Twitter handle covering for Russian intelligence, that released the Democratic National Committee hacked emails. Page, who has strong financial ties with Russia, admitted to meeting with the Russian ambassador during the Republican convention and traveling to Russia during the campaign.
"The president’s Attorney General was forced to recuse himself from any DOJ investigation into Trump and Russia because did not disclose to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he met with the Russian ambassador during the campaign.
"Now, the president’s son-in-law and senior advisor is set to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee. He will talk about his contacts with the Russian ambassador, a close Putin ally who is head of a Russia-owned bank.
"Where does it stop?
"These contacts give us enough reason for pause. Combined with Mr. Trump’s positions on NATO, sanctions relief, and Russia’s human rights violations, they raise serious security questions for the United States and NATO.
"As I said, we need an independent prosecutor at the helm to ensure that the whole of the investigation is not compromised, one who is not subject to White House pressure and not in a position of investigating his or her boss. We also need a bipartisan commission along the line of the 9/11 commission that is independent of politics.
"The Chair of the House Intelligence Committee is compromised and damaged beyond repair. He has coordinated with the subjects of his Committee’s investigation and lost credibility. I compliment my Senate colleagues, who are working together on an investigation, but the Senate Committee does not have the resources to investigate fully and the ranking Democrat on the Committee agrees we need an independent investigation that can go further.
"A former Acting Director of the CIA called the Russian interference in our election one of the most successful covert operations in history. Former Vice President Cheney has said what they did could be 'considered an act of war.' By covert interference in a U.S. election, Russia pursued a policy to install its favored candidate as President of the United States.
"Yet, the president has dismissed the national security agency findings, accused our national security agencies of acting like Nazi Germany, and leveled fake charges at the former President.
"The American people are not fooled and they want Congress to get to the bottom of this. We in Congress have a solemn duty to the American people to do just that."
