This Friday morning, the US Department of Justice said it has charged 12 Russian hackers with attempting to meddle with the 2016 US presidential election, just three days before President Trump is scheduled to have a one-on-one summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Among the Twitter reactions: Top Democrats are demanding that Trump call off the Putin summit — and not always in the most pleasant language.
“Cancel your ridiculous Putin summit and get your butt back on a plane to the United States,” tweeted Sen. Elizabeth Warren:
DOJ’s criminal charges provide hard evidence that Russian intel agents attacked America to boost their favorite candidates, undermine others, and influence our elections. @realDonaldTrump, cancel your ridiculous Putin summit and get your butt on a plane back to the United States.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) July 13, 2018
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Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, released an entire statement, but his tweet was dead simple: “Cancel the Putin meeting. Now.”
While Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, didn’t initially ask Trump to call off the meeting — she originally issued a statement demanding that Trump stand up to Putin at the summit — she’s also now on board:
Sen. Mark Warner: “If the President won’t make Russia’s attack on our election the #1 issue at the summit, then it should be canceled.”
In light of today’s indictments, there should be no one-on-one meeting between President Trump and Vladimir Putin on Monday. There must be Americans in the room. If the President won’t make Russia’s attack on our election the #1 issue at the summit, then it should be canceled.
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) July 13, 2018
Here are Reps. Ted Lieu, Steve Cohen and Joe Kennedy III:
In light of the charges against 12 GRU officers announced by Rod Rosenstein, @realDonaldTrump should cancel his meeting with Putin, who ordered the attack on the US. @POTUS shouldn’t meet Putin until he accepts responsibility. And Trump should definitely not meet him alone. https://t.co/bP71DdGOHB
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) July 13, 2018
POTUS should either publicly demand extradition of these 12 Russian officials to stand trial or call off his summit. @realDonaldTrump should not lend legitimacy to an adversary that attacks our democracy. https://t.co/6WpAK121oF
— Rep. Joe Kennedy III (@RepJoeKennedy) July 13, 2018
It’s not just Democrats, by the way. Republican Sen. John McCain said, “If President Trump is not prepared to hold Putin accountable, the Helsinki Summit should not move forward.”
President Trump must be willing to confront #Putin from a position of strength & demonstrate there will be a price to pay for his ongoing aggression. If President Trump is not prepared to hold Putin accountable, the #HelsinkiSummit should not move forward. https://t.co/HRfmgKTk0e
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) July 13, 2018
Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted that he “know[s] for a fact” that Putin interfered in the elections:
I dont “believe” Putin interfered in our elections I know for a fact he did. But some important nuances are being completely ignored in the analysis, coverage & partisan reaction to todays indictments. 1/4
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 13, 2018
And another Republican, Sen. Ben Sasse, simply tweeted that “the reality” is that Putin is “not America’s friend”:
The U.S. intelligence community knows that the Russian government attacked the U.S. This is not a Republican or a Democrat view — it is simply the reality. All patriotic Americans should understand that Putin is not America’s friend, and he is not the President’s buddy… pic.twitter.com/GfgtDKKtSF
— Senator Ben Sasse (@SenSasse) July 13, 2018
The GOP’s official Twitter account had a different take on today’s announcement, however:
US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said this morning that though the hackers had attempted to meddle with the election, there’s no evidence yet that they actually influenced the outcome.
According to a tweet from Bloomberg White House reporter Jennifer Epstein, the Trump-Putin summit is currently still a go.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment. President Trump has yet to weigh in on his personal Twitter account. Earlier Friday, he met Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle while a huge protest against his visit to the UK took place in London.
US Tech Policy
