Only days since our last update that Senator Claire McCaskill’s campaign was attacked in cyberspace, Senator Jeanne Shaheen announced that her office was also attacked on line.  Facebook also announced that 32 Facebook pages and Instagram accounts had been identified and removed because their content violated Facebook’s ban on coordinated inauthentic behavior.  Although the culprits have not yet been identified, their modus operandi follows the 2016 Russian playbook.  More than 290,000 accounts followed at least one of the pages and some 30 events were posted on these pages.

For the first time, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen unequivocally announced that the Russians attacked us in 2016.  Days later, she stood together with Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, National Security Adviser John Bolton, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Director of the National Security Agency General Paul Nakasone to affirm jointly that Russia meddled in the 2016 elections and, in the words of Director Coats, they are “a keyboard click away” from a more serious attack.  General Nakasone said that the U.S. Cyber Command and the NSA "are prepared to conduct operations against those actors attempting to undermine our nation's midterm elections." 

However, the President fails to authorize an aggressive response.  Hours later at a political rally, Trump undermined his National Security team with the words “Now we're being hindered by the Russian hoax -- it's a hoax, OK?" He also had the gall to call our free press “fake, fake disgusting news.” These repetitious falsehoods are seriously dividing our country, playing right into Putin’s hands.

The Republican-controlled Congress does little to speak out and act in the protection of our democracy from Russia’s cyber-war, specifically they fail to press the President to fulfill his sworn duty to defend the United States of America.  We can all see the striking contrast between their feeble response to this crisis and the national mobilization mounted after 9-11-2001.  There is an appearance to many citizens, right or wrong, that Republicans are putting party ahead of country. 

In the absence of effective Presidential leadership to defend our country from this cyberwar, we call on our Congressional representatives to give us assurance that Congress will defend our country against these attacks.  Specifically, we ask that you:

1.  Earnestly re-assure the American public that Congress will defend us and will more aggressively enact legislation to protect upcoming elections and our national infrastructure against future Russian cyber-attacks by (a) mobilizing key federal agencies, (b) supporting state governments, and (c) assuring the integrity of social media including Facebook and Twitter.  In particular, resurrect and pass the bill to renew election security funding to the states in what appears to be the most important election in American history given the possibility that Putin may succeed this time in his attacks on our election process.

2.  Press President Trump to take stronger action against Putin, specifically to authorize a strong counter attack taking this cyberwar back to Russia.

3.  Speak out forcefully in defense of Mueller’s investigation into the Russian cyber-attacks; publicly denounce attacks on this investigation by the President and his allies; and pass legislation, before it is too late, to assure that this investigation continues unimpeded to completion.

4.  Censure the President for dereliction of duty if he continues (a) not to defend our Country and (b) to aid Putin in Russia’s assault to divide this country and attack our US agencies working hard to defend our country from Russian aggression.