Dem senator: Hold hearing on Russian interference in election

Shaheen, a member of the committee, sent a letter to Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Ben Cardin (Md.), the ranking Democrat, urging them to give “timely attention to this serious issue.” 

 

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“These Russian actions are unprecedented in our post-Cold War relationship and have rightfully drawn bipartisan condemnation and prompted bipartisan calls for Congressional hearings,” she wrote. 

 

Shaheen added that a hearing could be paired with a closed-door briefing for lawmakers as they weigh a response to “these unacceptable violations of our democracy.” 

 

Thursday’s letter comes a day after Senate Democrats on the Intelligence Committee sent a letter to President Obama, urging him to release more information about reported Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election.

In October, the intelligence community publicly blamed Russia for the hack of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and other political organizations this year, calling the thefts an intentional effort to interfere with the U.S. election process. 

Democrats argue the DNC hack was meant to help then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, though National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers has said that he doesn’t believe the publication of stolen DNC emails affected the outcome of the presidential election, which Trump won. 

The Washington Post also reported last week that independent researchers found that Russia helped push fake news during the campaign aimed at undercutting Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and helping Trump.