HOUSE DEMOCRATS ACT TO SAFEGUARD OUR DEMOCRACY
& PROTECT OUR NATIONAL SECURITY

EXPOSING AND COMBATTING PRESIDENT
TRUMP’S CRIMES, CORRUPTION AND COVER-UP

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pecial Counsel Robert Mueller’s report uncovered the truth behind one of the
most serious attacks on our democracy in our history. The report revealed
that the Russians waged an all-out, systematic assault on the 2016 elections
to benefit Donald Trump, Trump and his campaign team eagerly welcomed and
even encouraged this attack and that Trump and his allies then took calculated
steps to obstruct the investigation and cover up the truth.

The Administration has engaged in unparalleled abuses of power and corruption
while hiding the truth from the American public – and just this month, President
Trump said he would again accept campaign help from the Russian government
to win the 2020 election. The fact that the President would betray our country and
jeopardize our national security to accept assistance from a foreign adversary
to disrupt our elections should alarm all Americans.
Congress has a patriotic duty to protect our elections – every Member of
Congress swears an oath to defend our democracy against threats, both foreign
and domestic. Democrats’ first action in the Majority was to pass H.R. 1, the For
The People Act, to strengthen our democracy and protect our elections. Under
the leadership of our Chairs, Democrats have held numerous hearings on how
best to secure our elections, counter subversive interference by our enemies and
blunt the impact of information warfare in our democracy. House Democrats are
now advancing legislation to aggressively address the crimes, corruption and
cover-up exposed in the Mueller report – and to build on the critical policies in
H.R. 1. We owe it to the American people to get the truth, to protect our national
security from future attacks by a foreign adversary and to restore integrity back
into the Office of the Presidency.
This report details House Democrats’ plan to safeguard our democracy from
future foreign attacks and to hold the President accountable for his abuses of
power. Democrats will close gaps in existing law, bolster our defenses and
uphold the balance of powers enshrined in our sacred Constitution, honoring
our oath: investigate, litigate, legislate.
Nothing less than the integrity of our democracy, the rule of law and national
security are at stake.

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 KEY FINDINGS OF THE MUELLER REPORT

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If we had confidence that the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would
have said so… And I will close by reiterating the central allegation of our indictments
— that there were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election.
That allegation deserves the attention of every American.

– SPECIAL COUNSEL ROBERT MUELLER

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THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT ATTACKED U.S. ELECTIONS, & TRUMP &
HIS CAMPAIGN WELCOMED & SOUGHT RUSSIA’S HELP TO WIN
• Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election in “sweeping and systemic
fashion” to help elect Donald J. Trump.
• Russia infiltrated U.S. election infrastructure, including the successful penetration
of state and local election infrastructure and a private voting administration firm.
  

• The Russian government used hundreds of thousands of hacked, stolen documents to disparage candidate Clinton and help Trump. The Trump campaign
welcomed the release of information illegally obtained by Russian hacking efforts,
and President Trump personally received advance notice regarding the release
of damaging information.

RUSSIA USED “INFORMATION WARFARE” TO SOW DISCORD IN THE
ELECTION AND TO HELP CANDIDATE TRUMP
• Russia engaged in a sustained and sophisticated disinformation campaign
across social media platforms to aid Trump’s campaign, exploiting loopholes in
our campaign finance and communications law.
• Special Counsel Mueller identified extensive, improper contacts – over 120 in total – between the Trump campaign and Russian agents that were never reported
to the FBI, including the sharing of nonpublic campaign strategy documents.
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 • The Russian government (the Internet Research Agency or IRA) reached tens
of millions of U.S. persons through their disinformation campaign using fake
social media accounts to aid Trump’s campaign. “From June 2016 until the end
of the presidential campaign, almost all of the U.S. rallies organized by the IRA
focused on the U.S. election, often promoting the Trump Campaign and opposing
the Clinton Campaign.”

TRUMP USED “MOB-STYLE” TACTICS TO OBSTRUCT THE MUELLER
INVESTIGATION, ABUSE EXECUTIVE POWER & TAMPER WITH
WITNESSES
• On at least 10 instances, President Trump asked his staff to lie or falsify documents to obstruct the Mueller investigation and cover up the truth of Trump’s
actions.

• The report found that the President’s obstruction would have been even more
dangerous and damaging if not for the fact that many of “the persons who surrounded the President declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests.”
• President Trump engaged in witness tampering and misused his pardon power
to discourage Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn and others from cooperating with
the Mueller investigation.
• The Special Counsel’s Office charged 37 people and entities with crimes; already
convicted 7, including 5 top Trump top campaign officials; “identified evidence
of potential criminal activity that was outside the scope” of its jurisdiction in 14
additional matters that continue to be pursued by law enforcement; and transferred another 11 matters.

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 EXPOSING & COMBATTING the TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S
CORRUPTION & COVER-UP

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n the wake of Watergate, Congress passed sweeping reforms to combat the
corrupting influence of money in politics and promote ethics and transparency
in government. Today, faced with the unprecedented level of corruption and
vulnerability to our democracy exposed in the Mueller Report, Congress is acting
with the same urgency.

The effort by multiple Committees has relied on a robust hearing, legislative and
litigation strategy that will continue to unfold over the coming weeks and months.
House Democrats will engage the American people in a national discussion
about the crimes exposed by the Mueller report, while continuing to advance
a comprehensive policy response to protect our national security and secure
our democracy in advance of the 2020 election, building on H.R. 1, the For The
People Act.
This work includes a focus on legislative reform across three key goals:

1) SECURE & DEFEND OUR ELECTIONS

House Democrats have advanced legislation that: Increases funding to
protect our state election systems, requires adoption of paper ballots and
risk-limit audits and mandates strict cybersecurity notification requirements
for election technology vendors.1

2) PREVENT FOREIGN INTERFERENCE & INFLUENCE
House Democrats will advance legislation that: Closes foreign money
loopholes, codifies an affirmative duty to report foreign intervention in
campaigns, clarifies in-kind and coordination law and shuts down illicit
foreign activity in our elections through greater oversight and transparency.

3) END THE CORRUPTION, END THE ABUSE OF POWER & PROMOTE
TRANSPARENCY
House Democrats will advance legislation that: Prohibits the creation of
false documents by the Office of the President and ends presidential interference in law enforcement decisions.
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In June, the House passed the Securing America’s Federal Elections (SAFE Act) to harden our election systems defenses, building on the

critical ballot box security reforms contained in H.R. 1.

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ll of Congress should be able to agree that we need to protect our national
security, secure our elections and defend our democracy – yet Republicans
in the Congress continue to stand in the way of action. Not one single House
Republican voted in support of H.R. 1, while Senate Majority Leader McConnell
continues to brag that he is the “Grim Reaper” of our House legislation – refusing to take up our vital legislation to strengthen our national security and shield
our democracy from foreign attacks. What’s more, Congressional Republicans
are complicit in the obstruction of legitimate Congressional investigations and
the President’s ongoing disregard for the rule of law.
Members of Congress have a responsibility to honor our oath of office, the
vision of our Founders and the text of the Constitution. Our Democratic House
Majority will continue to fight for our national security by securing our elections,
safeguarding our democracy and holding the President accountable – because
no one is above the law.

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