Thread: Senate Approves Russia Sanctions, Limiting Trump's Oversight

Senate Approves Russia Sanctions, Limiting Trump's Oversight

In an overwhelming vote of 97-2, the U.S. Senate approved a new round of sanctions on Russia in response to the nation’s likely interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as its involvement in the Syrian civil war. The deal also prevents President Trump from loosening or rolling back restrictions on Russia without Congress’s approval, representing one of the most significant GOP-enforced checks on the president to date. Only two GOP senators, Utah’s Mike Lee and Kentucky’s Rand Paul, voted against the sanctions. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, a democrat, was absent for the vote.

The decision comes amid an ongoing investigation to determine whether members of the Trump administration colluded with Russian officials to influence the results of the election—and could signal a growing bipartisan concern over Trump’s reported sympathy toward Russia. On Tuesday, ahead of the vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Trump administration “has been too eager—far too eager, in my mind—to put sanctions relief on the table.” He added that the new sanctions will “send a powerful, bipartisan statement that Russia and any other nation who might try to interfere with our elections will be punished.”

Before Tuesday, the U.S. had already imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea and aggressive military action in Ukraine. The latest round of sanctions expands the list of blacklisted businesses and individuals in Russia, targeting anyone “conducting malicious cyber activity on behalf of the Russian government.” The sanctions also pertain to those supplying weapons to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Russia. The U.S. has frequently accused the Assad regime of carrying out human rights abuses, the latest of which reportedly involved cremating the remains of thousands of hanged prisoners. Finally, the sanctions target Russia’s mining, metal, shipping, and railway sectors, parts of its energy sector, and individuals who have conducted business with its intelligence or defense sectors.

While the new sanctions package still awaits approval from the House of Representatives and a signature from the president, Tuesday’s sweeping bipartisan support suggests the deal is unlikely to be vetoed. In an effort to ensure the deal’s approval, senators also attached it as an amendment to a popular bill sanctioning Iran for its ballistic missile testing. Still, some Democrats are worried about how the White House will respond. One of the bill’s key negotiators, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, told reporters that “people in the White House, we hear, are making calls in the House to try to stop [the bill], slow it, weaken it, dilute it.”

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson argued the Trump administration should have more oversight over future sanctions. While Tillerson admitted that “Russia must be held accountable for its meddling in U.S. elections,” he added: “We would ask for the flexibility to turn the heat up when we need to, but also to ensure that we have the ability to maintain a constructive dialogue.” The president, he said, should have the authority to “adjust sanctions to meet the needs of what is always an evolving diplomatic situation.”

But, for some of the deal’s most ardent supporters, diplomatic relations—or lack thereof—between the U.S. and Russia are less ambiguous. “Vladimir Putin’s brazen attack on our democracy is a flagrant demonstration of his disdain and disrespect for our nation,” said Arizona Senator John McCain shortly before the vote. “This should not just outrage every American, but it should compel us to action.” If Tuesday’s vote is any indication, most senators agree that firm action is necessary, but question whether Trump or his advisors feel the same.

https://www.theatlantic.com/news/arc...-power/530382/

Trump needs to make a speech about Russia to the American People. He needs to hit this head-on. He needs to recite the history of Russia with regard to WWII, their casualties, because 28 million Russians died DEFENDING OUR DEMOCRACY, the largest human casualties of any country during WWII. Russia also declined financial aid from the United States after WWII, the only country to do so. Germany, Japan, China, Britain, France, all of them, all over the world Allied or Axis, victor or defeated, took money from the United States to rebuild after the war, EXCEPT RUSSIA.

This vote demonstrates the utter and complete stupidity of the United States Senate. It was the Senate that caused the fall of Rome, and so it will be for the United States, IF we don't stop the madness of allowing a body of stupid people that caused this mess we're in to continue doing so. The HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES must kill this bill. Trump needs to make a speech so the American People understand who the "Russians" really are, why Crimea was the right thing for the people of Crimea, that there is no hard evidence that Russia hacked the DNC, John Podesta's email account or anything else to "interfere in our democracy". If they wanted dirt on Hillary, they would have hacked her computers, IPhones and Blackberrys not the DNC or John Podesta. The person who would want those emails was someone who wanted Hillary to lose the nomination, that would be someone rooting for Bernie Sanders, not Donald Trump.

And notice this:

In an overwhelming vote of 97-2, the U.S. Senate approved a new round of sanctions on Russia in response to the nation’s likely interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as its involvement in the Syrian civil war.

"likely interference in the 2016 election" .... so ... there is no proof, there is no evidence, just supposition that Russia interfered in our democracy. Sanctions without proof. Wow. How far can our nation fall before we hit rock-bottom. Investigations of "obstruction of justice" when there are no crimes to begin with.

A nation based on habeas corpus law tries to tear down a Presidency without any proof or evidence of a crime having even occurred to begin with and continues to harm an old Ally that is hoping for a new and improved relationship with our country without any proof or evidence that they did anything wrong to deserve sanctions to begin with.

We sop the plates and roll out the red carpet for illegal aliens who are robbing US blind and killing our citizens, and sanction Russians who have never done anything to hurt US.

It's just nuts.