Dem pushes panel to investigate for Russian election interference

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) on Thursday pressed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to hold a hearing on reported efforts by Russia to interfere in the U.S. presidential election.

Citing the recent hack of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the ongoing FBI investigation into Russia’s role in the cyberattack, Shaheen noted “the sobering possibility that Russia is employing the tactics it has long used to influence elections in places like Ukraine and Georgia, this time in the United States.”

“I believe a full committee hearing on this issue, perhaps supplemented by a classified briefing, would be beneficial both to the members of the committee and the constituents they represent,” she urged Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and ranking member Ben Cardin (D-Md.) in a letter.

Shaheen is the lead Democrat on the Foreign Relations subcommittee on Europe.

Experts widely believe that the attack on the DNC — and the subsequent release of stolen documents on the eve of the Democratic National Convention — was the work of Russian intelligence agents, perhaps in an attempt to influence the outcome of the November elections.

But despite increasing pressure from lawmakers to publicly attribute the attack to Russia, the White House hasn’t publicly identified a suspect.

It’s unclear how the U.S. might respond if it were to prove conclusively that Russia was involved in the hacks as a way to meddle in U.S. elections.