Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence encouraged the Obama administration on Sunday to follow through on its threat to launch an unprecedented cyberstrike on Russia, which U.S. intelligence officials have blamed for hacking and disclosing emails in order to interfere with the current presidential election.
“I think there’s no question that that evidence continues to point in that direction and we should follow it where it leads,” Pence said in reference to the Russian government during an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier.
“There should be severe consequences to Russia or to any sovereign nation that is compromising the privacy or the security of the United States of America,” he added.
According to multiple reports, CIA officials were asked last week to present a variety of covert cyberactions to the White House that the U.S. could use to “embarrass” Kremlin leaders. Vice President Joe Biden strongly hinted at the possibility during a “Meet the Press” taping on Saturday.
“We’re sending a message,” he told NBC News’ Chuck Todd. “We have the capacity to do it.”
“My hope is that, as the vice president had said on another network this morning, that there will be consequences,” Pence told Baier. “My hope is that this administration will follow through on that because the president of France just this weekend said that the Obama administration’s foreign policy … of moving red lines in Syria actually was interpreted as a weak position for America and emboldened Russia to invade Ukraine and take a much larger role in Syria.”
“We’ve got to follow through on our word and we’ve got to protect the cybersecurity of this country,” he added. “And my hope is that this administration will follow through this time.”
