[Beren]

Senate approves sanctions bill to punish Russia for meddling

RICHARD LARDNER

Associated Press | June 14, 2017

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led Senate voted decisively to punish Moscow for interfering in the 2016 election by approving a wide-ranging sanctions package that targets key sectors of Russia's economy and individuals who carried out cyber attacks.

Senators on Wednesday passed the bipartisan sanctions legislation 97-2, underscoring broad support among Republicans and Democrats for rebuking Russia after U.S. intelligence agencies determined Moscow had deliberately interfered in the presidential campaign. Lawmakers who backed the measure also cited Russia's aggression in Syria and Ukraine.

Despite Russia's bellicosity, there's been no forceful response from President Donald Trump. The president has instead sought to improve relations with Moscow and rejected the implication that Russian hacking of Democratic emails tipped the election his way.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's "brazen attack on our democracy is a flagrant demonstration of his disdain and disrespect for our nation," Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said ahead of the vote.

"But in the last eight months, what price has Russia paid for attacking American democracy?" McCain said.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson offered tepid support for the sanctions measure, telling the House Foreign Affairs Committee he agreed "with the sentiment" among lawmakers that Russia must be held accountable for its meddling in the election.

But Tillerson urged Congress to make the sanctions legislation doesn't tie the president's hands and shut down promising avenues of communication between the two former Cold War foes. He asked lawmakers "to ensure any legislation allows the president to have the flexibility to adjust sanctions to meet the needs of what is always an evolving diplomatic situation."

If the Trump administration decides to oppose the new sanctions, they could be in a bind. The sanctions measure has been attached to a bill imposing penalties on Iran that the Senate is currently debating and which also has strong bipartisan support. So the White House would have to reject stricter punishments against Iran, which it favors, in order to derail the parts of the legislation it may object to.

Once the Iran bill is passed, the legislation moves to the House for action.

The leaders of the Senate Banking and Foreign Relations committees announced late Monday that they'd reached an agreement on the sanctions package after intensive negotiations.

The deal was forged amid the firestorm over investigations into Moscow's possible collusion with members of Trump's campaign. House and Senate committees are investigating Russia's meddling and potential links to the Trump campaign. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is conducting a separate probe.

The measure calls for strengthening current sanctions and imposing new ones on a broad range of people, including Russians engaged in corruption, individuals in human rights abuses and anyone supplying weapons to the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Broad new sanctions would be imposed on Russia's mining, metals, shipping and railways sectors.

The measure would punish individuals who conduct what the senators described as "conducting malicious cyber activity on behalf of the Russian government." Also covered by the sanctions are people doing business with Russian intelligence and defense agencies.

The package also would require a congressional review if a president attempts to ease or end current penalties. The review mechanism was styled after 2015 legislation pushed by Republicans and approved overwhelmingly in the Senate that gave Congress a vote on whether Obama could lift sanctions against Iran. That measure reflected Republican complaints that Obama had overstepped the power of the presidency and needed to be checked by Congress.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, said the Senate has finally confronted Russia.

"This bipartisan amendment is the sanctions regime that the Kremlin deserves for its actions," Shaheen said.

So it's official now.

[Decky]

I love the irony of the US whinging about interference with a democratic election (well democraticish depending on what you think of the electoral college). How many elections has the CIA rigged all over the world? It is as hypothetical as Argentina moaning about colonialism or the Saudis chairing the UN human rights council or Obama's peace prize. How do American politicians keep a straight face as they do this stuff?

[Albert]

And the monkeys in the House will pass this bill as well. Fuck. This puts Trump in a bind that is for sure and postpones any cooling of relation (between Russia and USA) for some good while to come, most likely for at least 1-2 years. Unless some event changes the current circumstances.

[Beren]

I wonder if Trump will ever be able to do any good to Putin or Russia as both Putin and Russia seem to be declared public enemies by the U.S. Senate, and the House will follow suit most likely. We'll see if The Putin Interviews will change that.

[MistyTiger]

Wow! This is surprising. I wonder if Trump is having a series of temper tantrums now. He must be feeling so very betrayed now.

[Rancid]

I love the irony of the US whinging about interference with a democratic election (well democraticish depending on what you think of the electoral college). How many elections has the CIA rigged all over the world? It is as hypothetical as Argentina moaning about colonialism or the Saudis chairing the UN human rights council or Obama's peace prize. How do American politicians keep a straight face as they do this stuff?

Politics as usual

[Igor Antunov]

The US is growing increasingly irrelevant on the world stage. This will just speed that process along.

[Finfinder]

The US is growing increasingly irrelevant on the world stage. This will just speed that process along.

How so ?

[Saeko]

Good. Putin should be impaled in the ass on the Washington monument, but since Russia has nukes, this is probably the best we're gonna get.

[Beren]

The US is growing increasingly irrelevant on the world stage. This will just speed that process along.

I thought America was being made great again.

Don't try change narrative @Finfinder.

[neopagan]

This shows how unsubtle Americans can be in the world of international diplomacy. It is really a media show to reclaim Republican support among the patriotic, which might have worked in years gone by. The way to deal with the undisclosed action is to respond in kind. But anyway, I am not going to take this seriously unless the US government pledges in the Constitution, not to interfere in foreign politics. The Republicans? What a bunch of hypocrites. They think we forgot Vietnam, Reagan and Bush. They need to go **** themselves . . . or maybe that's what they are doing.

[mikema63]

Good.

We should also ban RT while we are at it.

[ArtAllm]

And the monkeys in the House will pass this bill as well. Fuck. This puts Trump in a bind that is for sure and postpones any cooling of relation (between Russia and USA) for some good while to come, most likely for at least 1-2 years. Unless some event changes the current circumstances.

Russia never attacked the USA, neither consciously, nor by mistake.

If Trump has nothing to lose any more, if he is called a "puppet of Russia" no matter what he does, even if he kisses the ass of Israel Lobby and bombs Syria, why not look into the USS-Liberty-affair and not stop the insane confrontation with Russia?

I learned recently that JFK had sent his brother into the Soviet Embassy to tell Khrushchev, that he needs help, because the deep state got crazy in their war mongering, they wanted a nuclear war with the Soviet Union, and JFK was the only sane person in this loony bin, who was aware that he will be killed (which eventually happened) if he does not get any help from the Soviet Leader. The Soviet apparatchiks were crazy, too.

It was not easy for Khrushchev to persuade the Soviet Generals, that a nuclear war with the US will not help anybody, except the "capitalists" (speak banksters).

So maybe Putin and Trump are intelligent enough to cooperate and save the World from a Nuclear Disaster one more time, like it was the case with Khrushchev and JFK?

[Finfinder]

I thought America was being made great again.

Don't try change narrative @Finfinder.

Its like shooting fish in a barrel, only I keep catching the same trash fish. You know that old bloated carp that hangs around the fish pellet feeder and follows you around the pond.

[SpecialOlympian]

Multiple states, multiple cities, in the US have GDP's larger than Russia's. Lol at the idea that a renewed friendship with an autocratic kleptocracy will somehow MAGA.

[Beren]

The Russians don't want to be friends with America anyways. It couldn't be a friendship of equals, the only thing Putin would be interested in, and it would be especially impossible with Trump as president. It would be fucked up by the first handshake in public.

Putin wants America confused and isolated, and Trump and his administration fulfil or even outdo his expectations.

[skinster]

My feeling when reading liberals ITT:

[mikema63]

How could we harm such a stable and loving relationship like we have with Russia?

[skinster]

USA! USA! USA!

[mikema63]

Yeah it's funny how there's a consensus about russia and not healthcare. I wonder if maybe it's because the evidence about Russia is so overwhelming that neither side can ignore it?

Nah, they must both just be literally evil.