Expressing that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Russian Federation interfered in the 2016 United States Presidential election and deliberately spread false information to implicate the Republic of Ukraine.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 759 Expressing that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Russian Federation interfered in the 2016 United States Presidential election and deliberately spread false information to implicate the Repub- lic of Ukraine. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 10, 2019 Mr. KEATING submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned RESOLUTION Expressing that it is the sense of the House of Representa- tives that the Russian Federation interfered in the 2016 United States Presidential election and deliberately spread false information to implicate the Republic of Ukraine. Whereas, on October 7, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intel- ligence issued a joint statement, which concluded that the intelligence community of the United States was ‘‘con- fident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from U.S. persons and institu- tions, including from U.S. political organizations’’ and VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR759.IH HR759 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HRES 759 IH that ‘‘these thefts and disclosures are intended to inter- fere with the U.S. election process’’; Whereas, on January 6, 2017, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, on behalf of all 17 intelligence agencies, released an unclassified report entitled ‘‘Assess- ing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections’’, which included analysis by the Central Intel- ligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National Security Agency that asserted ‘‘Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. Presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the U.S. demo- cratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency’’; Whereas the unclassified report from the intelligence commu- nity found that ‘‘Putin and the Russian Government de- veloped a clear preference for President-elect Trump’’ as well as ‘‘aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him’’. On No- vember 11, 2017, the Central Intelligence Agency, led by then-Director Mike Pompeo, issued a statement saying ‘‘The director stands by and has always stood by the January 2017 intelligence community assessment’’ and that ‘‘the intelligence assessment with regard to Russian election meddling has not changed’’; Whereas, on May 16, 2018, Richard M. Burr, the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, stated ‘‘There is no doubt that Russia undertook an unprecedented effort to interfere with our 2016 elections’’; Whereas, on March 22, 2018, the Permanent Select Com- mittee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR759.IH HR759 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HRES 759 IH issued the ‘‘Report on Russian Active Measures’’ which states, ‘‘In 2015, Russia began engaging in a covert in- fluence campaign aimed at the U.S. Presidential elec- tion.’’. The report goes on to state, ‘‘Russia conducted cyberattacks on U.S. political institutions in 2015–2016’’ and ‘‘Russian-state actors and third-party intermediaries were responsible for the dissemination of documents and communications stolen from U.S. political organizations’’. The report also found that ‘‘Russian intelligence lever- aged social media in an attempt to sow social discord and to undermine the U.S. electoral process’’; Whereas, on June 8, 2018, then-Director of National Intel- ligence, Dan Coats, publicly stated that ‘‘Russia con- ducted an unprecedented influence campaign to interfere in the U.S. electoral and political process’’; Whereas, on July 16, 2018, then-Speaker of the House, Paul D. Ryan, said that ‘‘there is no question that Russia interfered in our election and continues attempts to un- dermine democracy’’; Whereas, on July 18, 2018, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Christopher A. Wray, asserted, ‘‘as I have said consistently, Russia attempted to interfere with the last election and continues to engage in malign influ- ence operations to this day’’; Whereas, on July 25, 2019, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence also issued a report on ‘‘Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election’’, which stated that ‘‘The Russian Government directed extensive activity, beginning in at least 2014 and carrying into at least 2017, against U.S. election infra- structure at the state and local level’’. The report also stated that ‘‘the Committee found that the IRA (Internet VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR759.IH HR759 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HRES 759 IH Research Agency) sought to influence the 2016 U.S. Presidential election by harming Hillary Clinton’s chances of success and supporting Donald Trump at the direction of the Kremlin . . . the Committee found that IRA social media activity was overtly and almost invari- ably supportive of then-candidate Trump, and to the det- riment of Secretary Clinton’s campaign’’; Whereas, on February 2, 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that ‘‘as we all know, during the Presidential campaign in the United States, the Ukrain- ian Government adopted a unilateral position in favor of one candidate. More than that, certain oligarchs, cer- tainly with the approval of the political leadership, fund- ed this candidate, or female candidate, to be more pre- cise.’’; Whereas, on November 13, 2019, when asked whether there was any factual basis to support the allegation that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, George Kent, testified before the Permanent Select Com- mittee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, ‘‘To my knowledge, there is no factual basis, no . . . I think it’s amply clear that Russian interference was at the heart of the interference in the 2016 election cycle.’’; Whereas, on November 15, 2019, when asked about allega- tions that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 United States elections, former United States Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified before the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representa- tives, ‘‘the U.S. intelligence community has concluded that it was Russia.’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR759.IH HR759 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HRES 759 IH Whereas, on November 19, 2019, when asked about allega- tions Ukraine interfered in the 2016 United States elec- tions, National Security Council Director for European Affairs Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, testified before the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, ‘‘It is the consensus of the entire intelligence community that the Russians inter- fered in the U.S. elections in 2016.’’; Whereas, on November 21, 2019, former National Security Council Senior Director for Europe and Russia, Fiona Hill testified before the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, ‘‘Based on questions and statements I have heard, some of you on this Committee appear to believe that Russia and its se- curity services did not conduct a campaign against our country—and that perhaps, somehow, for some reason, Ukraine did. This is a fictional narrative that has been perpetrated and propagated by the Russian security serv- ices themselves.’’; and Whereas, on December 9, 2019, Director of the Federal Bu- reau of Investigation, Christopher A. Wray stated, ‘‘We have no information that indicates that Ukraine inter- fered with the 2016 Presidential election.’’: Now, there- fore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) supports the conclusions of United States 2 intelligence agencies that the government of Russian 3 President Vladimir Putin, and not the Government 4 of Ukraine interfered in the 2016 United States 5 Presidential elections; 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR759.IH HR759 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HRES 759 IH (2) recognizes that disinformation campaigns 1 run by Russian intelligence operatives have aimed to 2 shift blame for interference in the 2016 elections 3 from Russia to Ukraine; 4 (3) condemns ongoing Russian disinformation 5 campaigns and efforts to undermine freedom, de- 6 mocracy, the rule of law, and free and fair elections; 7 (4) recognizes that Ukraine is at the front lines 8 of combating Russian military aggression and ma- 9 lign political influence; and 10 (5) reaffirms its support for the government 11 and people of Ukraine in their fight against Russian 12 aggression and interference. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:58 Dec 11, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR759.IH HR759 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS