Salud Carbajal co-sponsors bill to investigate Russia’s influence on 2016 election

San Luis Obispo Tribune

“Grave questions remain” about the Russian government’s relationship with the Trump administration, Rep. Salud Carbajal said as he announced his co-sponsorship of the Protecting Our Democracy Act. The bill would create an independent commission to investigate Russia’s influence on the 2016 election and its potential influence in President Donald Trump’s administration.

“Americans deserve concrete answers regarding the President and his advisers’ relationship with Russian officials, to ascertain the risk to our national security,” Carbajal wrote in a statement discussing his involvement with the bill. Carbajal represents the 24th District, which includes San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, as well as a portion of Ventura County.

Carbajal’s statement comes after Michael Flynn resigned from his post as national security adviser amid allegations that he had lied about his contact with Russian officials, as well as a “host of other issues,” according to White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

The Protecting Our Democracy Act, which was initiated in December by Representatives Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), has been sponsored by dozens of representatives.

It calls for the creation of the National Commission on Foreign Interference in the 2016 Election, which would investigate efforts by the Russian government or related entities to hack electronic systems of the Democratic National Committee, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta or former Secretary of State Colin Powell, as well as attempts to hack voter databases from Arizona, Illinois and Florida. It will also investigate efforts by any foreign entity to promote false news during the election.

The commission also would look into activities that were not associated with the Russian government and used “electonic means to influence, interfere with, or sow distrust in elections for public office held in the United States in 2016.”

The commission would consist of 12 nongovernment workers — three appointed by both the Senate majority and minority leaders, and three by both the House of Representatives majority and minority leaders. The bill calls for these commissioners to be “prominent” citizens with “national recognition and significant depth of experience” in relevant fields.

Besides its investigation, the committee would make recommendations about how the United States government can be more effective in “detecting, preventing, protecting from and responding to” efforts to influence the election and administration.

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