McCain and Graham urge US to hit Russia back over election hacking

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Wednesday urged the U.S. to hit back at Russia over Kremlin’s alleged interference in the 2016 election.

“You can do a number of things,” McCain told Fox News, including strengthening sanctions agains Russia, increasing U.S. presence in the Baltic countries and giving “defensive weapons to Ukraine so that they can defend themselves.”

Graham echoed McCain’s assessment, adding that the U.S. should focus on retaliatory steps with lasting impact.

{mosads}”The bottom line is you need to hit Russia in a sustained fashion so if [President] Obama tries to do something going out the door that’s not sustained, then you send the wrong signal,” Graham said.

“Let the new Congress and the new president deal with Russia, pass new sanctions, much tougher than the ones we already have. … I would put their energy sector under sanction,” he said.

When McCain was asked whether he thought the tough anti-Russian measures would incite Moscow to hit back even stronger, the senator said inaction is not an option.

“Look, if you’re able to change the results of an election, then you have undermined the very fundamentals of democracy,” said McCain, while accusing the Obama administration of passively observing Russia’s actions.  

“[Vladimir Putin] understands strength, and that’s all that he understands,” he added.