Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a Senior Member of the House Committees on Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Budget, and the Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations, released this statement following her introduction of House Resolution 1021, which calls upon any agreement made between Trump and Putin to be subject to Congressional oversight as stipulated by Article I of the Constitution:

“During his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16, 2018, the President refused to acknowledge our intelligence community’s findings that Russia interfered in our elections. Trump and Putin agreed to meet again following the meeting, with Trump ultimately inviting Putin to the White House in the fall, and then retracting that invitation. What the two presidents discussed, or what agreements they reached, is still unclear to top officials, including the Director of National Intelligence. Trump blamed recent tensions with Russia on “many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity,” stating that the United States’ relationship with Russia “has NEVER been worse” – including periods like the Cuban missile crisis, and the wars in Korea and Vietnam. Trump did not publically mention factors that are usually cited in the West as causes for friction with Moscow: Russia’s annexation of Crimea, its support for rebels in Ukraine and for the Assad regime in Syria, its meddling in the elections of the United States and in those of other countries, the nerve agent poisonings in England, and Russia’s stance on Article V of NATO.

“Following the Helsinki meeting, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, asserted that “important verbal agreements” were reached between the two presidents. Russia is asserting that agreements that favor the Kremlin’s interests were discussed between Trump and Putin, thereby shaping a narrative of the meeting with no confirmation or alternative account from the Trump administration. These purported agreements made in Helsinki, whether they were truly discussed in this secret meeting, need to be subject to Congressional oversight given the history of geopolitical hostility of Vladimir Putin and the unacceptable behavior of Donald Trump.

“This resolution calls upon any agreement made between Trump and Putin to be subject to Congressional oversight as stipulated by Article I of the Constitution due to Putin’s history of geopolitical belligerence and the ongoing investigation into the Trump Administration’s role in Russian interference in the 2016 election. Both Trump and Putin cannot be trusted to make agreements that not only benefit the United States, but that do not outright threaten the very fabric of our democracy. The United States Congress possesses an inherent and vital responsibility to investigate threats to democracy and must not succumb to partisanship that may lead to complicity in the deterioration of our democratic system.

“Given the President's obsequiousness to Putin, and his past failure to even challenge Putin on Russia’s role in the 2016 election, it is critical to introduce H.Res. 1021, which would call upon the President to submit any agreement reached with Russian President Putin in Helsinki to the Congress for review and approval. This is an Article I moment. Together with my colleagues, it is important to lead on this critical issue and harness the voice of tens of millions of Americans who were aghast and embarrassed by the President's conduct in Helsinki, are concerned about the state of democracy, and believe it is time to hold this President accountable.”