Press Releases
07/26/2019
Secretary Merrill Responds to Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Russian Interference
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill issued the following statement today in response to the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s Report on Russian Interference:
"The Senate Intelligence Committee's report on Russian election interference underlines what we have been saying for two years - Connecticut's elections are secure, and when agents of the Russian government scanned our systems in 2016 our cyber defenses stopped them in their tracks.
"The report also echoes the Special Counsel's testimony that Russia and other foreign actors are continuing their attempts to influence America's elections.
"Election administrators across the country need the Trump administration and the Republican leadership in the United States Senate to stop blocking bipartisan election security bills and funding for election cybersecurity. This week alone, Mitch McConnell and the Republican Senate leadership blocked funding for cybersecurity, making auditable paper ballots mandatory, requiring campaigns to report contact with foreign agents, and even increased security for Senators' and their staffs' own electronics.
"These aren't partisan measures; election security doesn't favor Democrats or Republicans, it favors democracy. That the Republican leader of the U.S. Senate and the Trump administration are willing to block increased security out of some misguided, perceived partisan advantage is simply breathtaking in its negligence.
"We can't afford partisan games - Trump and McConnell must put American democracy before their partisan desires and give the states the resources we need to protect our elections."
###
- Twitter: Secretary of State on Twitter
- Facebook: Secretary of State on Facebook