“Russia has clearly been involved in wreaking havoc among our allies around the world,” said Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Genoa Township.
“I believe this matter needs to be looked into. I have full confidence in the House and Senate intelligence committees, as well as in the Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, to continue their bipartisan work to investigate foreign hacking and cyberattacks on our nation.”
Tiberi’s comments echoed those of House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who both indicated support Monday for investigations into cyberattacks.
“Any foreign intervention in our elections is entirely unacceptable,” Ryan said, but added his support for an investigation “should not cast doubt on the clear and decisive outcome of this election.”
Trump, however, dismissed reports that the Russians had attempted to intervene in the elections.
“Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card,” Trump tweeted Monday. “It would be called conspiracy theory!”
Rep. Jim Jordan also expressed skepticism, saying while Congress should investigate, "I will point out I think the intelligence agencies by and large do a great job, but they've been wrong before."
During an interview on Cleveland radio, the Urbana Republican said, "Let's get to the bottom of it, let's have the hearings, but this idea that somehow Vladimir Putin would rather deal with Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton I think is sort of laughable on its face."
Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Troy, also called the allegations serious, but said he wanted to review the evidence.
"What we do know, however, is that there is one election that was indisputably ‘hacked’ — the Democratic Party’s presidential primary," he said, referring to leaked emails indicating the Democrats' support of Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders. "I call upon the Federal Election Commission to investigate the impropriety of the Democratic National Committee immediately to ensure fair and open elections.”
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told MSNBC last week an investigation into whether Russia meddled in the election is warranted. “Sure, I’m supportive of it,” he said.
By contrast, Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown, of Ohio, supports not only the bipartisan investigation, but has called for a separate and fully independent commission to conduct an investigation free of any political influence.
“Fair and unobstructed elections are the foundation of our democracy, and I fully support the efforts of Sens. (John) McCain (R-Ariz.), (Jack) Reed (D-R.I.), (Charles) Schumer (D-N.Y.), and (Lindsey) Graham (R-S.C.) to fully investigate reports of Russia’s interference,” he said.
“It’s important that Republicans and Democrats continue to work together to defend our national security, but this is about more than politics, and a bipartisan committee isn’t enough. We also need a fully independent commission that can conduct a rigorous investigation of Russia’s role in this election so we can expose any threats to America’s democratic institutions.”
©2016 The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
