Schumer to Trump: When are you ‘going to get smart’ on Russia?
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) blasted President Trump’s policy toward Russia on Thursday, questioning when he would “get smart” on Moscow.
“President Trump warns all the time that we need to ‘get smart’ about other countries taking advantage of the United States. … So President Trump, when are you going to get smart about the threat Russia poses to the United States and our allies?” Schumer asked from the Senate floor.
Schumer’s comments came as the administration announced new sanctions against two-dozen Russian individuals and entities for cyberattacks in the U.S. and meddling in the 2016 election.
{mosads}But Schumer pushed Trump to do more, saying he should “further sanction [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and anyone else involved” in a chemical attack against a former Russian intelligence officer in Britain.
The U.S. released a joint statement with Germany, France and the United Kingdom on Thursday blaming Moscow for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia. The two remain hospitalized.
Schumer said in a later statement that the new financial penalties make it clear that special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia’s election interference is “not a ‘witch hunt,’ as the president and his allies have claimed.”
Several Democrats have praised the new sanctions but warned that they are insufficient.
Schumer added from the Senate floor that lawmakers are still waiting for the administration to combat Russia cyberattacks, bolster election security and for Trump to “utter one word of public criticism” about Putin.
“Your silence speaks volumes to the Russian government and America’s other adversaries. … More and more Americans are asking, why is President Trump so afraid to take on probably our number-one menace, Russia? What is he hiding,” he said.
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