The ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, California Rep. Adam Schiff, said that there will be a stronger push for US sanctions against Russia if President-electDonald Trump moves to undo them.
Schiff said that if the Trump Administration was smart, they would view Obama's sanctions as reprisals that "didn't really throw off relations with Russia," but added that Congress won't see it that way.
“Frankly though, in Congress we don't share that view. We think that more has to be done. We don’t think that, frankly, the steps that have been taken are enough of a deterrent,” the Hill cited him as saying.
"You're going to see Democrats and Republicans like McCain and Graham and others come together with a strong sanction package," Schiff added. He also predicted that action would be “even more vigorous” if Trump moves to undo what President Obama has done.
Donald Trump’s spokesman Sean Spicer on Sunday questioned the utility of the fresh sanctions imposed by the US government on Russia for its alleged cyberattack on US institutions. Spicer’s remarks, made during an interview with ABC, are in sharp contrast with the stance taken by prominent Republican leaders, but in line with Trump’s views on the issue.
“I think one of the questions that we have is, ‘Why the magnitude of this?’” Spicer said. “I mean you look at 35 people being expelled, two sites being closed down, the question is, is that response in proportion to the actions taken?”
During the interview, Spicer also remarked on what he saw as absence of similar aggressive actions in 2015, when China was accused by the White House of using hackers to steal US government and corporate data.
“China took over a million records, sensitive data of people like me who had worked in the government at any time. Not one thing happened,” Spicer said. “There is a question about whether there’s a political retribution here, versus a diplomatic response.”
US President Barack Obama last week imposed sanctions and expelled 35 Russian diplomats in response to Russia’s hacking of the US elections. Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, stated he wouldn’t retaliate yet.
