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[Page H10028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MR. PRESIDENT, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO HIDE?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from
Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) for 5 minutes.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin
must have been consumed with delight. President Trump chose to invite
to the White House Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the right
arm of Vladimir Putin.
The American people should be on red alert, asking themselves what
the President has to discuss with a senior leader of an adversary, in a
meeting closed to the press and closed to the American people.
Mr. President, what do you have to hide?
Importantly, Mr. Lavrov is the individual that first concocted the
Ukraine false narrative on December 1, 2016, that hid Russia's
involvement in our elections, blaming it on Ukraine.
It seems that this meeting is a part of a pattern of President
Trump's disturbing behavior to cozy up to dictator Putin and his
oligarch cronies, many of whom have invested heavily in Trump
properties.
Astoundingly, President Trump welcomed Russia's intervention in our
2016 elections, and then he invited Russia back to the Group of Seven.
He shamelessly kowtowed to Putin at the Helsinki Summit.
And additionally, President Trump withheld critical military
assistance and a White House meeting from the President of Ukraine,
Volodymyr Zelensky, urging him to investigate false conspiracy theories
about President Trump's political opponents here at home.
Meanwhile, the President publicly and continuously derides our
closest allies, and questions the value of NATO, for heaven's sake, the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the bulwark of our security as free
people. And he embraces dictators from around the world.
Yet, again, need I remind the President that Russia seeks to destroy
liberty. Putin seeks to destroy critical democratic alliances, forged
at great sacrifice, such as NATO, that have brought unprecedented
peace, security, and prosperity to the free world, which includes us.
In 2019, Russia illegally invaded the independent nation of Ukraine,
leading to already over 14,000 deaths and the displacement of millions.
Ukraine is the scrimmage line for liberty in the Transatlantic
Alliance. Russia has been working hard to destroy that alliance, which
is freedom's bulwark.
Russia has sided with the barbarous Assad regime in Syria, and Russia
conducts constant cyberattacks and misinformation campaigns to meddle
in democratic processes, including here in our 2016 presidential
election; and she is intent to do it again next year.
Simply put, the enemy of liberty will stop at nothing to weaken the
United States and our allies.
When the American people elect their President, they expect a leader
to champion liberty on the world stage.
The world is watching, and so are our children. How should they
interpret the United States rolling out the White House red carpet for
corrupt Russian leaders, while freedom-seeking Ukrainian President
Zelensky is still waiting for his invitation to the White House?
Indeed, this Lavrov meeting is rather sinister. It comes at a very
sensitive time, domestically and internationally. On the eve of the
meeting with Mr. Lavrov, Mr. Trump continues to deride our own national
security institutions, such as the FBI, whose investigation clearly
proved Russia interfered with our 2016 election, and she is on task to
do it again.
Mr. Lavrov, himself, invented and directed the totally false
narrative that Ukraine interfered in our election, a conspiracy theory
spun up by the enemy of democracy himself. By siding with Russia, our
President's behavior encourages Russia's malign behavior, while hurting
our allies.
Interestingly, this secretive meeting in the Oval Office comes right
after the Normandy Format talks in France between Ukraine, Germany,
France, and Russia, when President Zelensky successfully withstood
Russian pressure. He did not cross any red lines that could suggest
capitulation of Ukraine in front of Russian aggression.
And during the Normandy meetings, thousands of freedom-loving
Ukrainians showed up on the streets of Kyiv to show their support for
President Zelensky and their readiness to defend their beloved
motherland.
So, our conclusion is what Russia couldn't achieve through the open
channel of diplomacy, it tries to do through the channels behind closed
doors here in our own backyard.
Congress must demand full access to the transcript of the meeting
between the President of our country and the Foreign Minister of Russia
Lavrov.
Free people deserve it.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to address their
remarks to the Chair.
____________________
