Bronx, NY—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement:

“As Congress assesses the Mueller Report, we must also take a hard look at how the President’s conduct has affected our foreign policy and continues to have a troubling impact on our national security.

“The heart of the report paints a very real picture of Russia’s wide-ranging attack on American democracy. That cannot be ignored. I intend to advance legislation that would punish those responsible and help prevent future attempts to interfere with our elections.

“At the same time, the report makes clear that the President sought business with Russia that he tried to hide. Coupled with his refusal since entering office to reveal any of his foreign business entanglements, the American people remain in the dark about the extent to which a foreign power may have influence over this President. These are the sorts of conflicts that our Constitution was designed to guard against. And the Foreign Affairs Committee will use our oversight authority to further examine whether the President has used American foreign policy to advance his own interests rather than the country’s.

“Finally, the report shows an American President who dismisses the rule of law. We must be mindful in the days ahead that the world will be watching whether the tools of our democracy—including the entire range of checks and balances available to the Congress—work the way they’re meant to do. This is an important moment for democracy in the United States and for those around the world who look to us as a beacon of justice.”

Background

The Report "established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome." Mr. Mueller found that, after it succeeded in these efforts, "Russian businessmen began trying to make inroads into the new administration," and that "[t]he most senior levels of the Russian government encouraged these efforts."

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