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Understanding 9/11tv Sens. Graham Blumenthal on Designating Russia as State Sponsor of... CSPAN June 22, 2024 2:06pm-2:30pm EDT
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ll design as a state sponsor of terrorism. sen. blumenthal: in some ways hope to be again in the united states senate. exhibit a, i rest my case. two of the most autocratic, atrocity committing leaders in the world standing together terrorists sponsors. this picture says it all. russia deserves to befact, it has
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deeply earned the designation to be a state sponsor of terrorism. and sanctions would be strengthened and yes, there would be practical expenses. y view, this message to the wo important in a moral sense as any practical consequence. russia deserves to be in this small collective of atrocity committing killers and russia deserves to be put out as a we will pursue this fight, it is bipartisan and we have other supporting. and it is a priority to me, having seen in a very personal
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way what russia has done in ukraine. we visited the s grave. women and children hands tiedhead. we have talked to prosecutors about russia kidnapping children and indoctrinating russia, taking them away from their loved ones and parents. av firsthand the kind of terrorism that russia has committed and sponsored around that the united states senate has to take a stand. sen. graham: well, the jury calling them guilty, you did a good job. this is a moment in history that will be viewed decades to follow as consequential. what do you have to do to become people falling out of windows right and left, putin has been
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involved with the bogner group which is the extension of the state, dismembering africa. navalny's death was beyond strange. every form of opposition has been crushed in russia. they use the benefits of the russian state to support terrorism through the bogner group and other enemies. and now putin has entered into a defense agreement with one of the most notorious terror states on the planet. we have lost deterrence. the fact that he would be bold to do a defense agreement with north korea as senator blumenthal said, one of the most oppressive regimes on the planet meterrorists. what would it matter? it would be a morale boost to the people of ukraine, it would ma even more of a pariah state. if you wanted to do business with russia after we makea state sponsor of terrorism you
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do so at your own peril. putin's barbaric behavior to access american courts through this designation. the administration i've been working with you on saudi and israel and i will work about the normalization between saudi arabia and israel. but if you worry about being too provocative about russia stop worrying.stop worrying, you are not too provocative. we need to up our game when it comes to russia. thtoolbox that we can use is a desi russia a state sponsor of terrorism. i only seven nations that have this designation and it does matter. it matters a lot. so i would urge senate leadership to bring this bill to the floor for a vote. we made cuba a state sponsor of terrorism. mean that you cannot engage. it means that they wear a label syria, iran, cuba, northrussia.
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of all the people i've worked with on the national security center, blumenthal has been consistent. he has a proud democrat when it comes to standing up for democracy and to thugs, he is second to none. i ha in russia. i do not know how they missed you. you make me look like a choir boy. the bottom linegiving up and we will insist on a boat. the best thing we can do i is to label putin a terrorist leader because he has. this would have enormous benefits in ukraine, i think. i look forward to being ableote on the bill. sen. blumenthal: i want to just say graham, he has not always been seen with onate or inspiring in a way that john mccain inspiring and i often think of john mccain at this moment and what he would think about a bipartisan partnership and for everybody in this room, thanks about what
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russia has done to its if there were no other reason to cite the persecutionjournalists, and journalists worldwide by vladimir putin and the russian state, that would be my exhibit b. exhibit a is the partnership between kim and putin, marching literally together. their country signing a military partnership, hostile to the united states, peace, and liberty and justice around the world. you know it is time for the senate to take this. any questions? yes. >> so, have you spoken with the biden administration about this the text or anything like that? the tiktok house that worked that out that was successful.
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have you guys worked with the blumenthal: i have talked about this resolution. they are certainly sympathetic to the goal. we have worked on some specifics and we will continue to work with them, but i think it is time now for us to move forward. and they understand that w have differences of approach or opinion. and for what we are trying to do. sen. graham: he has worked with the state department and i've worked with the state department. i do not think we are being provocative about labeling putin state-sponsored terrorists. i think we are being rational. it is earned. but agreement between north korea and russia, it is time for us to push back. now is the moment above all other moments. administration, given what putin has done yesterday, let us go all in in designating his regime at it is, a state sponsor of terrorism.
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anyone who does a defense agreement with north koreae sponsor of terrorism. >> this might be too provocative? sen. blumenthal: no. >> try to bring this up by unanimous consent iise of a vote. are you both atteing th address next month? sen. blumenthal: i will be. and i think we would be prepared to seek unanimous consent. but preference would be to move forwardand give the senate a chance to vote on it as a whole. and my hope is that time would permit it. but there is an urgency here that might prompt us to seek sen. graham: what he said. are there specific sanctions that would kick in with this designation that are not currently in place right now? and what putin and north korea
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ability to enhance their own defense capabilities. did you take that as an explicit endorsement of theirsen. blumenthal: i think it is an endorsement of their nuclear program. i will tell know, and i do not want to hold up the picture for a third time.this photograph is not outrageous, it is deeplybecause it cooperation not only againstaibut against the united states. i do not even need to go into the kinds of -- into the classified briefings we have frightening the idea is that russiaits nuclear expertise to north korea. remember russia for years and years opposed north korea adding exactly this kind ofear capacity because it was so frightened of what this
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maso i it as an endorsement. and why i think we need to use every tool available. and if nothing else let me just tell you what one practical consequence would be. russia's sovereign immunity in our courts would be severely restricted and curtailed as a terrorism and there would be consequences for sanctions enforcement. >> senator graham, a question for you. have you had any conversations with former presidenpporting this? sen. graham: i have not. i am trying to get it put together. it be a good question to ask him. the bottom line to put it simply, not only are they any defense they might be providing nuclear expertise to north konow if that does not get you to being a state sponsor of terrorism, what would?
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increasing the nuclear capability of somebody already on the state sponsor of terrorism last should be an automaticlusion of the country in question. and unanimous would like the committee to have a fair shot. to me this decisions our generation of politicians will make. because if we made russia a spate ponsored terrorism it would change the momentum in ukrain it would be a morale boost of the ukrainians and it would make any -- it would make it hard to do business with russia. my hope is people one day will be free of putin and his cronies. they are suffering as much as anyone. sen. blumenthal: i have not been in touch with former president trump either. you didn't ask me. ukraine and the european allies would not have anyestions on the language but when it would be possible to brought onto the floor. do you have any ideas of timing. calling
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for the administration to remove restrictions for american long-range missiles because there were a lot of efforts to reach out to the administration. would you support their efforts to use american long-range missiles. sen. blumenthal: i will give you my view. which is i strongly support this resolution. it has a is no substitute for continuing military support to ukraine or substitute for long-range artillery and air defense is very practical. we need to heighten oury support during these absolutely critical times for ukraine as it seeks to extend itself against a russian counteroffensive and prepare for its own military actions, hopefully early in 2025.
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and we should permit, very explicitly ukraine to attack in russian-controlled the lines. i have endorsed for some authority that ukraine needs to attack russian command centers, supply depots, just as they are attacking infrastructure in ukraine. and we need to give ukraine that ability for longer-range targets. sen. graham: we are trying to open up another front. we learned that putin could care less about how the russians die in his misadventure. you could justg russians in perpetuity and it does not change the behavior. until tells us that --intel says that he cares about his money and ill-gotten gains. when we are going after the sovereign wealth assets of russia to seize them to help
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them -- to help the victims of ukraine is having an effect. if we made russia a state sponsor of ter them up to litigation american courts and makes it harder for anyone to help him. to me this summer and fall should be about more. more military capability and it should also be about aggressive action towards their economy and the way they do those things. sen. blumenthal: one more question. >> when do you think it would be brought on the floor. do you when? you know, i think predictions on time are hazardous around the united states senate. i'm not going to make a prediction prior -- prediction. but sooner rather than later. a question for you. it is about youpo the idea of including women in the draft. sen. graham: that is not the subject of debate today. sen. blumenthal: one more. >>gues in the house to make sure that it does make it to the president's desk if it passes
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through the senate. sen. blumenthal: i would be t last person the world to say that i have done a scientific poll among members of the house but i can tell you that there would be very strong birtiswe just went on a trip to normandy. profoundlyi lead a delegation of about 20 and senator graham and i were there. i will tell you i was moved by the speeches. i was affected profoundly by veterans. they are 100 years old now, they lived through d-day. andnormandy, omaha beach where those soldiers landed in eight feet of water, and then had to cross three football fields flat with no cover when they were under a hail of morotsrs --
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mortoswas courage of a moment of time. o members of the house who also went to normandy for that trip. if we can summon the courage of that kind of moment for this resolution and as senator graham said so well for countering russia as it imperils democracy now just as hitler's - hilter -- then this is going to go forward. it is no substitute for providing arms or the united states galnizingorld against north korea, russia iran. siege and assault. th not just words on a piece of paper. this is a statement of moral intent. sen. graham: rounding out with
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just imagine for a moment if you voted against this resolution, if you had a chance to vote look what you would be endorsing. you would be saying well, that is not enough. the dismembering of a sovereign nation, the mass of women the kidnapping ofproviding nuclear capability to north korea for god's sake. the dismemberment of countries in africa. on and on. i know representative mccall is very interested in this. but i would say that any member of the house and senate, if you give russia a pass here, given all that putin has done, and we have lost deterrence. if this is not enough, i mean as of yesterday. if there was any doubt about who putin is in terms of a terrorist
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state, he just entered into a defense agreement with n and pledged to help their nuclear program. if you can forgive all that then you will shine in history all the wrong ways. if you could go back in time and learn from the mistakes of the le apologized and rode off hitler as wanting this is not that and not understanding who they dealt with those decisions did not age well. i am telling you that if you let putin get away with this latest not age well in history. thank you all.
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