Democratic Party chief: Trump is ‘compromised’

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez said Thursday morning that President Trump is “compromised” in the “cyber war” with Russia.

“We are at war now. It is a cyber war,” Perez said CNN’s “New Day.” “Unfortunately, because our commander in chief is compromised, the federal government is asleep at the switch. … We can’t expect help from the administration.”

{mosads}Perez also noted the DNC’s pledge not to make use of stolen or hacked material in 2020, which he has asked the Republican National Committee to support.

Asked by host Alisyn Camerota if Democrats would continue to adhere to the pledge even if materials like Trump’s tax returns were exposed through hacking, Perez insisted Democrats would obtain those materials through congressional subpoena power. Trump is currently resisting requests for his tax returns from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and said Wednesday that he will fight “all the subpoenas.”

“What we are seeing is we need to restore the basic institutions of our democracy,” Perez said on Thursday. “The Homeland Security secretary wasn’t even allowed to bring it up,” he added, apparently referring to a report Wednesday that former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was warned not to discuss Russia’s election interference with Trump. Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney reportedly told Nielsen that Russia’s election meddling “wasn’t a great subject and should be kept below [the president’s] level.”

Perez told Camerota that the DNC is taking further steps to bolster cybersecurity measures ahead of the 2020 election. During the lead-up to the 2016 election, WikiLeaks released hacked emails from the DNC and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta.