The Hacking Indictments (NYT)

Letter to the New York Times:

The indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers on charges of hacking our elections, combined with previous indictments of 14 Russian nationals for similar offenses, should lead President Trump to demand an apology from Vladimir Putin in their one-on-one meeting in Helsinki.

Mr. Trump should also demand that Mr. Putin hand over these defendants for trial and, if refused, should announce sanctions. Mr. Trump’s failure to do so would provide evidence that he is himself compromised by Russian intelligence.

Congress and state governments should wake up to the dangers of a repeat performance of meddling in the midterm elections. Hearings should be held to ask what American officials have done to harden our systems against the Russian threat. Social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter should take action as well to protect their customers and our citizens.

Late-night comedians notwithstanding, this is no joke. The United States has been and remains under attack. We must defend ourselves.

ERIC W. ORTS, PHILADELPHIA

The writer is a professor of legal studies and business ethics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/opinion/hacking-indictments.html