III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 582 

Protecting American democracy. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 19, 2018 

Mr. SANDERS (for himself and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Protecting American democracy. 

Whereas, at the summit in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16, 

2018, President Donald Trump embarrassed the United 

States, undermined the values of the United States, and 

openly sided with the authoritarian leader of the Russian 

Federation, Vladimir Putin, against the unanimous assessment of the United States intelligence community 

that the Russian Federation interfered in the 2016 

United States presidential election; 

Whereas Senator John McCain stated, ‘‘[It] was one of the 

most disgraceful performances by an American president 

in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump’s 

naivete ́, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for 

autocrats is difficult to calculate. But it is clear that the 

summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake.’’; 


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•SRES 582 IS 

Whereas, on July 17, 2018, in response to the international 

backlash, President Trump, while claiming he misspoke 

and blaming the media for reporting what he said, still 

sowed doubt about the electoral interference by the Russian Federation by claiming it ‘‘could be other people 

also’’ and not just the Russian Federation; 

Whereas the United States faces an unprecedented situation 

in which the President of the United States refuses to acknowledge an attack on the democracy of the United 

States; 

Whereas the Russian Federation has been interfering not 

only in the elections of the United States, but also in the 

elections of other democracies, such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, to name a few; 

Whereas the goal of the Russian Federation is to advance its 

own interests by weakening the transatlantic alliance of 

democracies that arose after the Second World War, 

while also inflaming internal divisions in each of those 

countries; 

Whereas, on July 13, 2018, Special Counsel Robert Mueller 

announced indictments of 12 members of the military intelligence service of the Russian Federation known as the 

Glavnoe Razvedyvatel’noe Upravlenie (referred to in this 

preamble as the ‘‘GRU’’); 

Whereas, on July 13, 2018, Director of National Intelligence 

Dan Coats raised the alarm on growing cyberattack 

threats against the United States in a range of areas, including Federal, State, and local government agencies, 

the military, business, and academia, stating that the situation is at a ‘‘critical point’’, adding, ‘‘In regards to 

state actions, Russia has been the most aggressive forVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Jul 20, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR582.IS SR582

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•SRES 582 IS 

eign actor. No question. And they continue their efforts 

to undermine our democracy.’’, and comparing the warning signs to the signs the United States faced ahead of 

the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; 

Whereas the cyberattacks by the Russian Federation represent a threat to the democratic system of the United 

States and the democratic systems of the allies of the 

United States; 

Whereas, domestically, President Putin has undermined democracy in the Russian Federation, crushing free speech, 

jailing political opponents, harassing and assassinating 

journalists who criticize him, and increasingly persecuting 

ethnic and religious minorities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, 

transgender, and queer citizens; 

Whereas, in terms of foreign policy, the Russian Federation 

has meddled in the elections of democratic countries, 

stoking political tensions by promoting hatred and suspicion of immigrants and minorities, and trying to undermine longstanding alliances between democratic allies; 

Whereas, in 2014, in violation of international law, the Russian Federation invaded neighboring Ukraine, and annexed the Crimea region; 

Whereas the Russian Federation has assassinated political 

opponents abroad, most recently through the use of poison in Salisbury, England, on a former spy and his 

daughter, an atrocious chemical attack that endangered 

the lives of hundreds of civilians and which, according to 

news reports, the Government of the United Kingdom 

concluded was likely carried out by the GRU; and 

Whereas President Trump had an opportunity to raise the 

issues described in the preceding clauses with President 


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Putin at the July 16, 2018, summit in Helsinki, Finland, 

but chose not to: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) accepts the assessment of the United States 

3 intelligence community with regard to interference 

4 by the Russian Federation in elections in the United 

5 States and in other democracies; 

6 (2) must move aggressively to protect the elec7 tion systems of the United States from interference 

8 by the Russian Federation or any other foreign 

9 power, and work closely with the democratic part10 ners of the United States to do the same for elec11 tions in those countries; 

12 (3) demands that the sanctions against the 

13 Russian Federation that were enacted in the Coun14 tering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act 

15 (Public Law 115–44; 131 Stat. 886) be fully imple16 mented by the President; 

17 (4) will not accept any interference with the on18 going investigation of Special Counsel Robert 

19 Mueller, such as the offer of preemptive pardons or 

20 the firing of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosen21 stein; and 

22 (5) declares that the President must cooperate 

23 with the investigation of Special Counsel Mueller. 

Æ 


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