Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement on reports that the Russian Government hacked the Ukrainian company Burisma:

“The alarming reports that the Russian Government is continuing to interfere in our elections to benefit the President and to undermine our democracy highlight the urgent need for action. For months, our intelligence and law enforcement officials have made clear that the Russians ‘interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion’ and are now launching a ‘365-days-a-year threat’ to compromise the 2020 elections – yet the President has refused to take meaningful action to strengthen our election security.

“American elections should be decided by the American people, not by the Russian Government. As our first act in the Majority, House Democrats advanced H.R. 1, the For The People Act, to secure our elections, and we have since passed multiple strong bills to further strengthen our nation’s defenses. But Leader McConnell has condemned our bills to his legislative graveyard, giving hostile foreign powers the green light to attack our country.

“The President and every Republican Senator must explain to the American people why they are refusing to defend our national security and the integrity of our elections. We only learned of this hacking through the press. Congress must be briefed on what the Administration knows about this attack and why the President doesn’t have a plan to protect our elections.”