- 2 years ago
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduce a bill to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00I stand here with my friend and colleague, Lindsey Graham.
00:06I'm tempted to say, as the trial lawyer that I once was,
00:12and in some ways hope to be again in the United States
00:17Senate, Exhibit A, I rest my case.
00:24Two of the most autocratic, atrocity-committing leaders
00:31in the world standing together, terrorist sponsors.
00:40This picture says it all.
00:45Russia deserves to be, in fact, it's
00:49deeply earned the designation to be
00:54a state sponsor of terrorism.
00:56And so far as the practical consequences are concerned,
00:59yes, sanctions would be strengthened.
01:05And yes, there would be practical consequences.
01:08But in my view, this message to the world
01:13is as important in a moral sense
01:18as any practical consequence.
01:20Russia deserves to be in this small, selective club
01:27of atrocity-committing killers.
01:34And Russia deserves to be designated
01:36as a state sponsor of terrorism.
01:38So we're going to pursue this fight.
01:43It is bipartisan.
01:44We have other supporters.
01:46And it is a priority for me, having
01:50seen in very personal ways what Russia has done in Ukraine.
01:56We visited in Bukha, the site of the mass graves.
02:03Women and children, hands tied behind their back,
02:05shot in the head.
02:08We have talked to prosecutors about Russia
02:12kidnapping children and indoctrinating them in Russia,
02:17taking them away from their loved ones and parents.
02:20We have seen firsthand the kind of terrorism
02:27that Russia has committed and sponsored around the world.
02:31And I believe that the United States Senate
02:33has to take a stand.
02:38Well, if I'm on the jury, guilty.
02:40You did a good job.
02:41So bottom line here, this is a moment
02:44in history that will be viewed decades
02:49to follow as consequential.
02:53What do you have to do to become a state sponsor of terrorism?
02:57People are falling out of windows right and left.
03:02Putin has been involved with the Wagner
03:03group, which is an extension of the state,
03:07dismembering Africa.
03:09Navalny's death was beyond strange.
03:12Every form of opposition has been crushed in Russia.
03:16They use the benefits of the Russian state
03:18to support terrorism through the Wagner group and other entities.
03:23Now, Putin has entered into a defense agreement
03:28with one of the most notorious terrorist states on the planet.
03:33We have lost deterrence.
03:35The fact that he would be bold enough
03:37to do a defense agreement with North Korea,
03:40as Senator Blumenthal said, one of the most oppressive regimes
03:44on the planet, means we have lost deterrence.
03:47What would it matter if we designated Putin's Russia
03:50state sponsor of terrorism?
03:52It would be a morale boost to the people of Ukraine.
03:55It would make Russia even more of a pariah state
03:59that if you wanted to do business with Russia
04:02after we make them a state sponsor of terrorism,
04:05you do so at your own peril.
04:08It would allow victims of Putin's barbaric behavior
04:11to access American courts through this designation.
04:15To my friends at the administration,
04:17I've been working with you on Saudi and Israel.
04:19I will continue to work with you on normalization
04:22between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
04:23It's a big deal.
04:25But if you worry about being too provocative regarding Russia,
04:28stop worrying.
04:30Stop worrying.
04:31You're not too provocative.
04:32We need to up our game when it comes to Russia.
04:36And the last, really, tool in the toolbox that we can use
04:41is a designation of making Russia
04:43a state sponsor of terrorism.
04:45I think there are only seven nations in the world that
04:47have this designation.
04:49And it does matter.
04:51It matters a lot.
04:53So I would urge Senate leadership
04:56to bring this bill to the floor for a vote.
04:59We've made Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism.
05:01We've engaged with Cuba.
05:03It doesn't mean you can't engage.
05:05It just means that they wear a label well-deserved, Syria,
05:09Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and now Russia.
05:13So I just stand with this.
05:14Of all the people I've worked with on national security,
05:17Senator Blumenthal has been very consistent.
05:21He's a proud Democrat.
05:22But when it comes to standing up for democracy,
05:24when it comes to standing up to thugs,
05:26he's really second to none.
05:28I have a pending arrest warrant in Russia.
05:32I don't know how they missed you.
05:33You make me look like a choir boy.
05:35So the bottom line is we're not giving up.
05:37We're going to insist on a vote.
05:40The best thing we could do, I think, to shape the future
05:44is to label Putin a terrorist leader, because he is.
05:48This would have enormous benefit in Ukraine, I think.
05:51So I look forward to being able to have a vote on our bill.
05:55And I want to just say about Senator Graham,
05:59he's not only been consistent, he's been passionate
06:02and inspiring in a way that John McCain was
06:08consistent and inspiring.
06:09I often think of John McCain at this moment
06:12and what he would think about a bipartisan partnership
06:16on this issue.
06:16And for everybody in this room, think
06:20about what Russia has done to its journalists.
06:26If there were no other reason to cite the persecution
06:33of American journalists and journalists
06:37worldwide by Vladimir Putin and the Russian state,
06:42that would be my exhibit B. Exhibit A
06:45is the partnership between Kim and Putin.
06:50Marching literally together, their country
06:56signing a military partnership, hostile to the United States,
07:00hostile to peace and liberty and justice around the world.
07:05You know, it's time for the Senate to take this stand.
07:10Any question?
07:13Yeah.
07:15Senator Gimbal, have you spoken with the Biden administration
07:19about this with some of the text or anything like that?
07:23The TikTok bill, for example, the way
07:26the House worked that out, that was successful
07:28because they worked with the administration on the wording
07:30they saw.
07:33I've talked to the administration
07:34about this resolution.
07:37They are certainly sympathetic to the goals.
07:40We've worked on some specifics.
07:42We're going to continue to work with them.
07:45But I think it's time now for us to move forward.
07:49And they understand that we may have differences
07:52of approach or opinion.
07:53And I think they respect us for what we're trying to do.
07:57If I could just add, he's worked with the State Department.
08:00I've worked with the State Department.
08:01We're not trying.
08:02I don't think we're being provocative by labeling Putin
08:06a state sponsor of terrorism.
08:07I think we're being rational.
08:09I think the designation is earned and would matter.
08:12But after the defense agreement between North Korea and Russia,
08:18it is time for us to push back.
08:21Now is the moment, above all other moments.
08:23So I would urge the administration,
08:25given what Putin has done yesterday,
08:29let's go all in in designating his regime
08:32for what it is, a state sponsor of terrorism.
08:35Here's a general rule.
08:37Anybody that does a defense agreement with North Korea
08:40should be a state sponsor of terrorism.
08:42Have you guys heard from the administration
08:44that this might be provocative?
08:46No.
08:48Two questions for both of you.
08:50First, will you try to bring this up by unanimous consent
08:52if you can't get leadership to promise a vote in second?
08:55Are you both attending Netanyahu's address next month?
09:00I will be at Netanyahu's address.
09:03And I think we would be prepared to seek unanimous consent.
09:10But our preference would be to move forward in regular order
09:17and give the Senate a chance to vote on it as a whole.
09:21My hope is that time would permit it.
09:23But I think there is an urgency here
09:26that might prompt us to seek unanimous consent.
09:30What do you say?
09:34Thank you.
09:35Are there specific sanctions that would kick in
09:37with this designation that are not currently in place
09:40right now?
09:40And the second question is, would Putin in North Korea
09:43say that he supports North Korea's ability
09:47to enhance their own defense capabilities?
09:49Do you take that as an explicit endorsement
09:51of their nuclear program?
09:56I think it is an endorsement of their nuclear program.
10:02I will tell you, again, I don't want
10:05to hold up the picture for a third time.
10:06But this photograph is not just outrageous.
10:13It is deeply scary, because it signals cooperation
10:21not only against Ukraine, but against the United States.
10:26I don't even need to go into the classified briefings
10:29that we've received to tell you how frightening the idea is
10:35that Russia would be lending its nuclear expertise
10:39to North Korea.
10:42Remember, Russia, for years and years,
10:46opposed North Korea getting exactly this kind of capacity,
10:52nuclear capacity, because it was so frightened of what
10:57this madman might do.
11:00So I interpret it as an endorsement.
11:05And that is one of the reasons why I think we need
11:09to use every tool available.
11:11And if nothing else, let me just tell you
11:16what one practical consequence would be.
11:20Russia's sovereign immunity in our courts
11:23would be severely restricted and curtailed.
11:26As a state sponsor of terrorism, there
11:28would also be consequences for sanctions enforcement
11:32and other results.
11:38Senator Grant, question for you.
11:39Have you had any conversations with former President
11:41Trump about supporting this?
11:43No, I haven't.
11:44I've been trying to get the bill put together.
11:47It would be a good question to ask him.
11:50Bottom line, just what Senator Blumenthal said,
11:54not only are they in a defense agreement with North Korea,
11:57they may be providing nuclear expertise to North Korea
12:01to increase their nuclear arsenal.
12:04Now, if that doesn't get you to being a state
12:07sponsor of terrorism, what would?
12:09Increasing the nuclear capability
12:11of somebody already on the state sponsor of terrorism list
12:16should just be an automatic inclusion
12:19of the country in question.
12:20So as to unanimous consent, I'd like the committee
12:24to have a first shot at this.
12:26But to me, this is one of the most important decisions
12:30our generation of politicians will make.
12:33Because if we made Russia a state sponsor of terrorism,
12:35it would change the momentum in Ukraine overnight.
12:39It would be a morale boost to the Ukrainians.
12:42It would make it hard for anybody
12:44to do business with Russia.
12:45And it would further isolate this regime.
12:47My hope is the Russian people one day
12:49will be free of Putin and his cronies.
12:52They're suffering as much as anyone.
12:54You haven't asked me, but I haven't
12:56been in touch with former President Trump either.
12:59I'll leave him going, yeah.
13:01If talking about Ukraine and European allies,
13:04I would not have any questions on the language.
13:06But for sure, we would have questions
13:07on when it could be possibly brought to the floor.
13:10Do you have any ideas on the timing?
13:12And the second question, Ukraine also right now
13:15calling for administration to leave all the restrictions
13:18to use American long-range missiles,
13:20attack on some particular.
13:21And because there were a lot of efforts
13:24to call on administration to do that,
13:27would you support to leave all the restrictions
13:29on Ukraine in order to use American long-range missiles?
13:33Well, I'll give you my view, which
13:37is I strongly support this resolution,
13:41as you've gathered from the passion
13:46that we've sought to communicate here.
13:48But it's no substitute for continuing military support
13:52to Ukraine.
13:52It's no substitute for long-range artillery,
13:55ATACMs, and air defense.
13:59In very practical, strategic terms,
14:01we need to heighten our military support
14:05during this absolutely critical time for Ukraine
14:08as it seeks to defend itself against a Russian
14:12counteroffensive and prepare for its own military action,
14:18hopefully early in 2025.
14:21And we should permit, very explicitly,
14:28Ukraine to attack targets in Russian-controlled territory
14:35that may be behind the lines.
14:37I've endorsed for some time the authority
14:41that Ukraine needs to attack Russian command centers, supply
14:46depots, just as they are attacking infrastructure
14:51in Ukraine.
14:52And we need to give Ukraine that authority
14:55for longer-range targets.
14:57I think Senator Blumenauer has to go real quick.
14:59We'll take one more question.
15:00But to answer, we're trying to open up another front.
15:03What have we learned?
15:04Putin could care less about how many Russians
15:06die in his misadventure.
15:09You could just kill young Russians in perpetuity.
15:12I don't think it changes the behavior.
15:14But intel tells us that he does care about his money
15:18and his ill-gotten gain.
15:19The Repo Act, where we're going after sovereign wealth
15:22assets of Russia to try to seize them
15:25to help the victim of Ukraine, is having an effect.
15:29This would open up yet another front.
15:32If we made Russia a state sponsor of terrorism,
15:34it opens them up to litigation in American courts.
15:37It makes it harder for anybody to help him.
15:39To me, this summer and fall should be about more,
15:44more military capability.
15:46And it should be also about more aggressive action
15:50toward their economy and the way they do business in Russia.
15:53We'll take one more question.
15:54Can you talk about the timing for when the deal might
15:57be brought forward on the floor?
16:00Like, do you see an idea as to when it will take months
16:03or two years?
16:06You know, I think predictions on time
16:09are pretty hazardous around the United States Senate.
16:12I'm not going to make a prediction.
16:14But sooner rather than later.
16:16We'll do our best.
16:17Rightably.
16:17Yeah, this will be the last question.
16:19You've got to go, right?
16:20Yeah.
16:20Can you explain your position on it,
16:22given who you are in the draft of the NDA?
16:25That's not the subject of the debate today.
16:28One more?
16:29Yeah.
16:29Have you guys spoken with your colleagues in the House
16:31to make sure that this bill does make it to the President's desk
16:35if it passes through the Senate?
16:37You know, I would be the last person in the world
16:39to say I've done a kind of scientific poll
16:43among members of the House.
16:44But I can tell you there'd be very strong bipartisan support.
16:48We just went on a trip to Normandy.
16:52Profoundly moving.
16:54I led a delegation of about 20 senators.
16:58And Senator Graham and I were there.
17:02I will tell you, I was moved by the speeches.
17:10I was affected profoundly by talking to those veterans.
17:15They're 100 years old now.
17:17They lived through D-Day.
17:20And walking the beach in Normandy, Omaha Beach,
17:25where those soldiers landed in eight feet of water
17:31and then had to cross three football fields flat,
17:36no cover, when they were under a hail of mortars and machine
17:43guns, that kind of courage was a moment in time.
17:48We need to have the same kind of courage here.
17:51And I talked to members of the House
17:53who also went to Normandy for that trip.
17:57If we can summon the courage of that kind of moment
18:03for this resolution, but as Senator Graham said so well,
18:09for countering Russia as it imperils democracy now,
18:14just as Hitler did then, we will pass this resolution.
18:19But we will do more.
18:21This resolution is no substitute for Caesar of Ashes.
18:25It's no substitute for providing arms.
18:27It's no substitute for the United States
18:31galvanizing the world.
18:33Against North Korea, Russia, Iran, democracy is under siege.
18:40And it's all.
18:41And this is not just words on a piece of paper.
18:45This is a statement of moral intent.
18:48We'll wrap it up with this.
18:49Just imagine for a moment, if you
18:52voted against this resolution, if you had a chance to vote,
18:56look what you'd be endorsing.
19:00You would be saying, well, that's not enough.
19:04The dismembering of a sovereign nation,
19:07the mass rape of women, the kidnapping of children,
19:12providing nuclear capability to North Korea for God's sake,
19:18the dismemberment of countries in Africa, on and on and on.
19:24So I know Representative McCaul is very interested in this.
19:30But I would say to any member of the House and the Senate,
19:33if you give Russia a pass here, given all Putin has done,
19:40then we've lost deterrence.
19:42If this is not enough, I mean, as of yesterday,
19:46if there was any doubt about who Putin
19:49is in terms of a terrorist state,
19:51he just entered into a defense agreement
19:53with North Korea for God's sake and pledging
19:56to help their nuclear program.
19:59If you can forgive all that, then you
20:01will shine in history all the wrong ways.
20:04If you could go back in time and learn
20:06from the mistakes of the 30s, where people apologized
20:10and wrote off Hitler as just wanting this and not that,
20:14not understanding who they were dealing with,
20:16they do not age well, those decisions back in the 30s.
20:20I'm telling you right now, if you let Putin get away
20:22with this latest misadventure, you
20:26will not age well in history.
20:28Thank you.
20:28Thank you all.
Comments