Just last Friday, a federal grand jury indicted 12 Russian intelligence officials on charges of hacking Democratic files. The charges were a result of a year-long investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, former director of the FBI.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, called the president’s comments “troubling.”
“He failed to stand up to Vladimir Putin on some of the most critical security issues facing our country and our allies,” Portman said.
“When given the opportunity, President Trump did not hold President Putin to task for election meddling, for the illegal annexation of Crimea, or for the continued aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
Youngstown-area Congressman Tim Ryan accused Trump of a “disheartening betrayal” to all U.S. service members when he did not challenge Putin on accusations Russian intelligence hacked Democratic e-mails to damage the 2016 presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton.
In a harshly worded statement, Ryan, D-Niles, called Trump’s performance “a disgraceful setback to the United States’ global leadership; an insult to those serving in our intelligence agencies; and a disheartening betrayal of every service member defending the U.S. government’s interests against Russian government hostility.”
Ryan said that “Trump’s appeasement of Putin with denials of Russia’s continued cyberattacks on our nation is pathetic and weak—especially coming just hours after referring to the European Union as a great ‘foe,’ and days after 12 Russians were indicted as part of special counsel Mueller’s investigation.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said “there is no question that Russia interfered in our election and continues attempts to undermine democracy here and around the world.”
“The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally,” Ryan said. “There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals. The United States must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy.”
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, charged Trump “missed an opportunity” to challenge Putin, adding “the intelligence experts we trust to keep America safe have said that Russia continues to threaten our democracy and our critical infrastructure, and the president missed an opportunity to do something about it.”
“The Ukrainian community in Ohio knows all too well the dangers of unchecked Russian aggression,” Brown said. “We must demand Russia turn over the spies who hacked our election and show Putin we will not put up with threats to our infrastructure that undercut our democratic institutions.”
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican who may run for president in 2020, tweeted: “We need to be clear. Russia is our foe. Putin is actively trying to hurt our country. America needs to speak with one voice against Russia.”
Rep, Brad Wenstrup, R-Cincinnati, said “Putin's assertion stands opposite the facts from our intelligence community.”
“As the U.S. intelligence community and the House Intelligence Committee investigation concluded, Russia attempted to sow chaos and undermine our democratic institutions,” Wenstrup said. “I don’t believe that Putin will ever admit that his government has attempted to undermine our democratic institutions as well as others.”
“It is up to us, the United States of America, to stop foreign adversaries, like Russia, from interfering in our democratic process,” he said.
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