Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) discussed special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia meddling in the 2016 presidential election and said President Donald Trump was “failing to act to protect our democracy.”
Coons said, “We aren’t. The most important thing the president should have done by now is to use the new sanctions authority that the Senate gave him by a vote of 9-2 last year, to push back on Russia and impose some pain, some cost for having interfered with our election. So far, no overt sanctions have been imposed. No real action has been taken.”
When asked if the Russians are emboldened by the inactions Coons said, “Absolutely. With someone like Putin, he’s only going to stop when we stop him.”
He added, “There are actions we should be taking town crease the pressure on Russia to back off. We should be engaging our European allies who match commonality of interest in this. We should be using the sanctions authority that the Senate also given to President Trump to me the most maddening questions why is President Trump failing to act to protect our democracy when there is indisputable proof now that Russia interfered in our 2016 election.”
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