Mueller Report outlined how Russian Intelligence hacked, stole & released material that Washington Republicans turned around and used in past elections
DCCC Chairwoman Bustos called on NRCC Chairman Emmer to commit to never doing it again – where does Congressman Zeldin stand?
Yesterday, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Cheri Bustos sent a letter challenging National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Emmer to join her in formally rejecting the use of hacked or stolen material in the 2020 election. During the 2016 election, both the NRCC and Congressional Leadership Fund, the largest GOP Super PAC, used information stolen and released by Russian intelligence agencies to attack Democratic candidates. This hacking incident is spelled out in great detail in the Mueller Report.
Previously, Congressman Zeldin said, “Russia must stay thousands of miles away from American elections. No exceptions. Russia is an adversary that should have no leeway to meddle. I don’t believe Putin’s denial.” Yet his words have been exposed as hollow given that his own campaign committee, the NRCC, has refused to denounce the use of hacked and stolen information. With 2020 right around the corner, the question is simple: Will Zeldin commit to never using hacked or stolen information in his election and will he call on the NRCC and Republican Super PACs to make the same commitment?
“Rejecting the use of stolen or hacked information obtained by Russian Intelligence Agencies should never be a partisan issue, but Washington Republicans have a record of using such information for their own political gain. If Congressman Zeldin actually wants to prevent foreign interference in the 2020 election, now is the time for him to pledge to never using stolen information in his campaign and to demand the NRCC and Republican Super PACs also make the same commitment,” said DCCC Spokesperson Christine Bennett.
Below is the full text of DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos’ letter to NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer. You can view a signed copy here:
Dear Chairman Emmer,
I write you today in the hope that we can reach an agreement on an issue of critical importance to our democracy. With the release of the Mueller Report last week, Americans were reminded, in great detail, about how our democracy was attacked during the 2016 Presidential Election. Regrettably, in at least two instances, this information was used by Republican campaigns for political gain.
For example, in Florida’s 18th Congressional District during the 2016 election, information was stolen from the DCCC and released by Russian Intelligence through Guccifer 2.0. Later in the year, the NRCC used that stolen information to attack the Democratic candidate.
There is no question that agents of the Russian government and other bad actors will attempt to infiltrate both the DCCC and NRCC to steal information for malicious use again in this upcoming election.
Protecting our democracy must be a priority for all Americans as we head into the 2020 election – that begins by ensuring the sanctity of our election process. As the heads of two major party organizations in our nation, we have an obligation to send a clear and unified message that Democrats and Republicans reject foreign interference in our elections.
In this spirit, I am asking the NRCC to join the DCCC in committing to the following pledge:
- We will not participate, aid or encourage hackers or foreign actors in any attempt to influence American elections.
- We will never seek out stolen and/or hacked information for use in any operations.
- We will never use known stolen and/or hacked information, or promote or disseminate stolen and/or hacked materials to the press, regardless of the source and will report any receipt of, or offers to receive, stolen and/or hacked information to law enforcement.
- We will not support any campaign or allied groups that use known stolen and/or hacked information, or promotes or disseminates stolen and/or hacked materials to the press, regardless of the source and will encourage all campaigns to report any receipt of, or offers to receive, stolen and/or hacked information to law enforcement.
- Any foreign actors attempting to participate, operate, influence or contact the committee or any of our campaigns will be reported to appropriate law enforcement immediately.
- We call on the chief election officers in all states to ensure the most robust fortification and protection of elections systems leading up to, and during, the 2020 election.
We hope you will agree to these principles for the sake of our democracy. If you have suggestions about how we could strengthen this pledge, I would welcome a dialogue with you.
Kind Personal Regards,
Cheri Bustos
DCCC Chairwoman
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