The Senate Is Trolling Trump With Its Intelligence Bill



Senate Intel Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., right, and Vice-Chair Mark Warner, D-Va.Tom Williams/ZUMA

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/08/the-senate-is-trolling-trump-with-its-intelligence-bill-1/

Every year, Congress has to reauthorize billions of dollars in spending by America’s 17 intelligence agencies. This year’s legislation, which recently passed the Senate Intelligence Committee, might contain some unpleasant surprises for President Donald Trump.

Along with funding for various intelligence-related operations and pay increases for certain cyber positions, the bill includes a half-dozen or so provisions related to Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Among other things, the bill mandates that the intel agencies take a thorough look at the 2016 Russian operation, conduct an assessment of threats to state election systems, and formulate a “whole-of-government” strategy for countering Russian cyberattacks on electoral systems. The bill also contains a provision that would prevent the Trump administration from setting up a cyber working group with the Russian government without notifying Congress first. (There were signs earlier this year that the administration might set up such a group, but the president promptly walked that back.)

From a policy perspective, the bill’s provisions would seem to make sense, given that the US intelligence community has concluded that Russia interfered with the election in order to help Trump. Special counsel Robert Mueller is currently investigating whether Trump associates cooperated with Kremlin efforts. But the legislation also appears to be a direct slap at Trump, who has routinely dismissed the Russia scandal as “fake news” and “all a big Dem HOAX” designed to help the Democrats explain how they lost the presidential election.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the bill, and the office of Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who chairs the committee, did not return requests for comment.