Senators need to carry out a robust investigation into the Russian influence campaign on the election, starting with a review of the information that led to the declassified report released earlier this month, Sen. Dianne Feinstein said.
The California Democrat said on NBC Sunday that Congress needs to investigate and tell the American people exactly what the Kremlin did to influence the election. She said it’s a warning shot across the bow of American democracy if a foreign power can have such a major influence on an election.
“I have been astonished by what has been a two-year effort in Russia to spearfish, to hack, to spread disinformation, to spread propaganda wherever it could,” she said.
The Senate Intelligence Committee, of which Feinstein is a member and former chairwoman, is reviewing the intelligence community’s declassified report to get more information on what exactly Russia did.
But, if that review doesn’t turn up the proper answers of how Russia operated and what their goals were, then the Senate needs to take additional steps, she said.
“It should be full and robust with respect to who gave the order to do this, who participated in it, exactly what they did and how they carried it out and how it portends for the future,” she said.
That the Kremlin sought to influence the election and succeeded in casting doubt on American institutions is a grave signal for the country, Feinstein said.
As the world’s first modern democratic republic, the United States cannot allow itself to be influenced by foreign powers during elections, she said.
“I’m certainly not going to leave this in limbo,” she said. “It’s the future of America, it’s the future of democracy and if we can’t carry out an election without another country pumping disinformation into it,” then we have a problem.
After an election that divided the country, Feinstein said Republican calls for President Obama to bring the country together were misguided and instead it should be up to President-elect Trump to unite the country.
She said Trump officials who have called on Obama to get Democrats in line behind Trump are putting the responsibility on the wrong person. Trump is the incoming president and he needs to get used to the responsibility of leading, she said.
“He is not just the president of his base, he is the president of everyone and that means a coming together,” she said.
