Shaheen Statement on Trump-Putin Summit: “It’s absolutely shameful that President Trump cannot bring himself to confront Vladimir Putin’s attacks against the United States”

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, issued the following statement after President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland:

“It’s absolutely shameful that President Trump cannot bring himself to confront Vladimir Putin’s attacks against the United States and against the principles of our democracy, which we all hold dear. Instead, the President chose to vilify the men and women of our intelligence community charged with protecting our country against the very adversary responsible for the interference in our elections,” said Senator Shaheen. “President Trump is willfully ceding global leadership and stature to a brutal dictator whose intent is to unravel the international order that has been instrumental to maintaining prosperity and peace throughout the democratic world.”

Last week, Senator Shaheen called on President Trump to confront Putin about the indictment of 12 Russian nationals for Russia’s attack on the 2016 US elections, and the Kremlin’s continued efforts to meddle in elections in the United States and other western democracies. Senator Shaheen has led efforts in Congress to hold Russia accountable for its election interference, and was the first legislator to call for hearings into their meddling. Because of her role as a negotiator on Russia sanctions legislation known as “CAATSA” and her efforts to hold the Russia accountable for its aggression, Shaheen was sanctioned by the Kremlin in December 2017.

On Thursday, Senator Shaheen participated in the 2018 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit with Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) in her capacity as a co-chair of the Senate NATO Observer group. The Senators re-established the Observer Group in February to include an expanded mission to monitor NATO’s rapidly developing needs and capabilities. At the Summit, Senator Shaheen underscored the United States’ bipartisan commitment to NATO, and discussed her efforts to strengthen the NATO alliance