Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has released a report detailing "Russian operations in 19 European nations" to show the American public the “true scope and scale' of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to undermine democracy around the world."
The report is the first from Congress to comprehensively detail Russian efforts to undermine democracies since the 2016 presidential election, and it wastes no time in calling out Trump personally for what it describes as a failure to respond to Russia’s mounting destabilization activities in the U.S. and worldwide ...
“Never before has a U.S. president so clearly ignored such a grave and growing threat to U.S. national security,” the report warns.
(...)
Cardin’s inquiry lays blame directly on Putin for a “relentless assault to undermine democracy and the rule of law in Europe and the United States.” Concerned that Trump has failed to identify Russian aggression as a national rallying point, the report urges a “stronger congressional voice” in pro-democracy efforts and funding. The report calls for committee hearings and other bipartisan efforts to aid European nations in countering Russian aggression.
Cardin also wrote an accompanying op-ed for The Washington Post, specifically calling out President Trump's failure to act to protect our democracy:
Putin has used such techniques because he has operated from a position of weakness, hobbled by a faltering economy, a substandard military and few followers on the world stage. And his attacks have grown in intensity and complexity over the past few years, driven by a desire to also repress democratic aspirations among his own citizens. While our European partners have taken steps to better defend themselves, the United States has done little to protect its institutions.
Despite the efforts of some in national security leadership, as well as dedicated career public servants across the executive branch, one person is preventing a strong, government-wide response that holds Russia accountable for its destabilizing activities: the president of the United States. Never before has the White House so clearly ignored a national security threat.
The AP notes that Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-TN) did not sign on to Cardin's report, but Republicans have shown interest in some of its recommendations, "including the aggressive use of financial sanctions aimed at Russia and pressuring social media companies to be more transparent about Russian political messaging."
Cardin’s report sketches a bleak portrait of European nations besieged by a recent spate of Russian encroachment. The report also cites years of cyber-attacks, disinformation, clandestine social media operations, financing of fringe political groups, corruption and in the extreme, assassination attempts and military operations that destabilized fledgling democratic governments in the Ukraine and Georgia. The report leans heavily on open source information as well as staff interviews with European diplomats and government officials.
NYT:
In total, the report offers more than 30 recommendations to safeguard the country’s electoral process and to work with allies, primarily in Europe, to establish new standards to address these types of threats. They include new sanctions to punish states that initiate cyberattacks on elections or critical infrastructure, an international summit meeting centered on such threats, an allied commitment of mutual defense against cyberattacks, as well as forcing social media companies to disclose the sources of funding for political ads.
But the report begins by calling on Mr. Trump to “assert presidential leadership” to establish a governmentwide response to the Russian efforts, including setting up an interagency center modeled after the National Counterterrorism Center to coordinate the American response to threats and policy related to their deterrence.
AP:
It also calls on the government to increase the amount of aid it provides to promote democracy in Europe and publicly to expose any organized crime and corruption links to Putin.
Dem senators’ report warns of Russian meddling across Europe (AP)
Russia’s Election Meddling Fits a Global Pattern, Senate Report Says (NYT)
Never before has a president ignored such a clear national security threat (WaPo Opinion)