Senate Democrats Urge Trump Administration To Impose New Sanctions On Russia Over Election Interference

A group of Democratic lawmakers urged the Trump administration to impose new sanctions on Russia over Moscow’s attempts to interfere in the 2020 presidential election.

“Congress mandated a broad range of sanctions tools, and it is long past time for the administration to send a direct message to President Putin: the U.S. will respond immediately and forcefully to continuing election interference by the government of the Russian Federation and its surrogates, to punish, deter and substantially increase the economic and political costs of such interference,” read a letter sent Thursday to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The letter was signed by Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., along with Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., among others.

The senators referred to a recent report from William Evanina, the director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. Evanina said that Russia has sought to interfere in the election in favor of President Donald Trump and has made moves to “denigrate” Democratic nominee Joe Biden. China and Iran prefer that Trump would not win reelection, the analysis says.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has released multiple bipartisan reports on Russia’s attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The committee recently found that Russian President Vladimir Putin was personally involved in an effort to publish stolen Democratic Party emails in 2016.

During a Pennsylvania rally on Thursday, Trump boasted of his relationship with Russia, claiming he has kept the U.S. “out of wars.”

“It’s good that I get along,” Trump said at the rally. “If I get along with Russia, is that a good thing or bad thing? I think it’s a good thing.”