SPOKANE, Wash. – Lawmakers throughout the northwest are responding on social media to President Trump’s meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland.
Sen. Patty Murray is the latest lawmaker to respond. She said, "President Trump has set a very high bar for shock and dismay over the course of his Administration, but yesterday’s press conference cleared that bar with room to spare."
Murray added that the president's statements alongside Putin were "truly horrifying and deeply alarming." She also asserted that the U.S. Intelligence community affirmed that Russia meddled in the U.S. election and that there is "every reason to believe they will do it again."
You can find read her full statement on Facebook here:
Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers voiced her opposition to the meeting in a statement posted on social media. She wrote, “Russia is not a friend to the United States or our allies. There’s no question that they meddled in our election, and all evidence points to Putin’s direct involvement.”
You can read McMorris Rodgers’s full statement here.
Sen. Mike Crapo, a Republican from Idaho, wrote on Facebook that he has been “deeply concerned” by the Russian’s behavior the past few years. He outlined legislation he supported that imposed sanctions on Russia.
“My views remain unchanged. We need to see actions, not words, from Russia in order to keep our relationship moving forward,” he wrote.
Here is the senator’s full statement:
Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington also expressed her concerns. On Twitter, Cantwell said Russian interference in the U.S. election is “not a question but a fact.”
An excerpt from her tweet thread reads, “Putin again denied Russian interference in our elections & Trump again refused to call him out. The foundations of our democracy are at risk & the American people deserve better. We must work harder than ever to ensure the cybersecurity & integrity of our free and fair elections.”
You can read her full thread here:
