Dear Members of Congress,

We the people urge you investigate the evidence of Russian interference of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. 

1. The public has the right to know if Putin or anyone else corrupted the political mechanisms of the nation.
2. If, when, and where any evidence is found that Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election has affected the final voting outcome, then new emergency repeat elections MUST be conducted by paper ballot in those affected states.
3. We MUST not allow the 2016 United States presidential election to be hijacked by Russia or by anybody else.To allow this is to negate the very idea of democracy itself. If we allow the Russians to interfere with our democratic presidential election voting process, then all of the American people will have been made into Vladimir Putin's puppets.

On 11/15/2016 the director of the National Security Agency, Admiral Michael Rogers, was asked about the WikiLeaks release of hacked information during the campaign, and he said, "This was a conscious effort by a nation-state to attempt to achieve a specific effect." He added, "This was not something that was done casually. This was not something that was done by chance. This was not a target that was selected purely arbitrarily."

This stunning statement that has echoed other remarks from senior US officials. Adm. Rogers is saying that Russia directly intervened in the US election to obtain a desired end: presumably to undermine confidence in US elections or to elect Donald Trump—or both. Adm. Rogers was clearly accusing Vladimir Putin of meddling with American democracy.

Presumably intelligence and law enforcement agencies are robustly probing the hacking of political targets attributed to Russia. But there is another inquiry that is necessary: a full-fledged congressional investigation that holds public hearings and releases its findings to the citizenry.

If the FBI, CIA, and other intelligence agencies are digging into the Russian effort to affect US politics, there is no guarantee that what they uncover will be shared with the public. The investigative activities of these agencies are not designed for public enlightenment or assurance. That's the job of Congress.

That is what is required now. If a foreign government has mucked about and undercut a presidential election, how can Americans be secure about the foundation of the nation and trust their own government?

So far, the only Capitol Hill legislator who has publicly called for such an endeavor is Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Sen. Graham, has proposed that Congress hold hearings on "Russia's misadventures throughout the world," including the DNC hack. "Were they involved in cyberattacks that had a political component to it in our elections?" 

The possibility that a foreign government covertly interfered with US elections is staggering. It raises the most profound concerns about governance within the United States. An investigation into this matter should not be relegated to the secret corners of the FBI or the CIA.

There already is reason to be suspicious. Without a thorough examination, there will be more cause to question American democracy.