,,iv #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,,con4 ,,res4 #dg ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #e1 #bjag,mr4 ,swalwell of ,california 7for himself and ,mr4 ,engel7 submitted the following concurrent resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committees on the ,judiciary1 and ,intelligence 7,permanent ,select71 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,,concurrent ,,resolution ,expressing the sense of ,congress that until the conclusion of the ,,fbi's criminal and counterintelligence investigations into the nature of the ,russian connection to the ,trump campaign1 the ,trump ,administration is acting under a gray cloud of the appearance of a conflict of interest1 and1 as such1 should refrain from taking any actions or making any changes to ,united ,states policy that could be seen as benefitting ,president ,putin or his inner circle4 ,whereas the ,russian ,federation has been a longstanding adversary of the ,united ,states2 ,whereas the ,director of the ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation 7,,fbi71 ,james ,comey1 and the ,director of the ,national ,security ,agency1 ,michael ,rogers1 testified at a ,march #bj1 #bjag1 hearing of the ,house ,permanent ,select ,committee on ,intelligence 7in this resolution referred to as the ,,hpsci ,hearing7 that the ,russian ,federation is a foreign adversary of the ,united ,states and should be treated as such in all interactions with ,united ,states officials2 ,whereas the ,russian ,federation has an institutionalized opposition to human rights1 democracy1 and the sovereignty of its neighbors1 exhibited most recently in its #bjad invasion of ,crimea1 its support for troops that shot down a ,malaysian ,airlines passenger jet1 its state-sponsored suppression of an independent media1 and its support for ,syrian dictator ,bashar al-,assad2 ,whereas #ag ,united ,states intelligence agencies jointly concluded in a ,january #bjag public report 7,,ic report7 that ,russian ,president ,vladimir ,putin personally ordered a campaign to interfere in the #bjaf ,united ,states elections in order to harm former ,secretary of ,state ,hillary ,clinton's chances of winning with a preference toward candidate ,donald ,trump2 ,whereas the ,russian ,federation's attack on the #bjaf ,united ,states elections was multi-faceted1 and included the hacking and dissemination of the contents of electronic systems of the ,democratic ,national ,committee and the ,democratic ,congressional ,campaign ,committee and its emails1 the hacking and dissemination of the e-mails of ,secretary ,clinton's campaign chairman1 the probing of voter databases in ,florida1 ,illinois1 and1 ,arizona1 the dissemination of fake news through paid social media trolls1 and using its state broadcasting station--directly tied to ,russia's intelligence services--,,rt1 to attack ,secretary ,clinton and support ,donald ,trump2 ,whereas the ,,ic report concluded that the ,russian ,federation will undoubtedly attempt to meddle in and influence future ,united ,states elections and elections of ,united ,states allies2 ,whereas despite the ,russian ,federation's status as an adversary and its attack on our democracy1 ,trump campaign officials and members of the ,trump ,administration have established or maintained well known and publicly documented ties with people close to ,president ,putin2 ,whereas such ties include-- 7#a7 ,attorney ,general ,jeff ,sessions1 who provided misleading testimony for his ,senate confirmation hearings with respect to at least twice meeting with ,russia's ,ambassador to the ,united ,states1 ,sergey ,kislyak1 in #bjaf2 7#b7 former ,assistant to the ,president for ,national ,security1 ,michael ,flynn1 who was compelled to resign just weeks into his tenure because he misled ,vice ,president ,mike ,pence about his conversations with ,ambassador ,kislyak1 and who also failed to disclose a #cc1gej payment from ,,rt1 for a speech in ,moscow in #bjae1 and a #aa1bej payment from ,kaspersky ,lab1 a company suspected of having ties with the ,russian intelligence services and later caught up in a ,russian espionage investigation1 for a speech in #bjae2 7#c7 ,trump campaign chairman ,paul ,manafort1 who received over #ab1jjj1jjj from former pro-,russian ,ukrainian ,president ,viktor ,yanukovych in his work as a political consultant in ,kiev1 and who reportedly signed a #aj1jjj1jjj annual contract with ,russian business magnate and ,putin ally1 ,oleg ,depripaska1 saying he would influence ,american politics1 business1 and news1 in a pro-,russia manner2 7#d7 ,trump campaign national security advisor ,j4,d4 ,gordon1 who directly advocated for a change in the #bjaf ,republican ,party platform to include more pro-,russia and less pro-,ukraine policies1 and who met with ,ambassador ,kislyak1 telling him he would like to improve ,united ,states-,russia relations2 7#e7 ,trump campaign senior foreign policy advisor ,carter ,page1 who has ties to ,gazprom1 the ,russian ,federation's state-owned gas company1 made a speech in ,moscow critical of ,united ,states foreign policy while a ,trump campaign advisor1 and met with ,ambassador ,kislyak at the #bjaf ,republican ,national ,convention while serving as campaign advisor2 7#f7 ,trump campaign advisor ,roger ,stone1 who had back-channel discussions with ,julian ,assange1 the ,wiki,leaks founder1 and had exchanges with hacker ,guccifer #b4j1 a known front for ,russian intelligence1 both of whom released documents damaging to ,secretary ,clinton and her presidential campaign2 and 7#g7 ,secretary of ,state ,rex ,tillerson1 who has met a number of times with ,president ,putin and was awarded ,russia's ,order of ,friendship in #bjac1 the highest state honor for a foreigner2 ,whereas1 despite being presented with clear and convincing evidence of atrocities committed by the ,government of the ,russian ,federation and its ,president1 ,president ,trump has not only refused to criticize them1 but has gone so far as to praise ,president ,putin and his government1 and furthermore1 ,president ,trump has been exceedingly willing to criticize or offend some of our closest allies1 including the ,united ,kingdom1 ,australia1 ,canada1 ,germany1 and ,mexico2 ,whereas ,president ,trump1 his campaign officials1 and some of his cabinet members have openly criticized the ,north ,atlantic ,treaty ,organization 7,,nato71 its usefulness1 and its future1 and this open criticism of ,,nato only helps ,russia by seeming to call into question ,,nato's power1 influence1 and ability to counter the ,russian ,federation strategically and militarily2 ,whereas ,,nato is one of our oldest and strongest military alliances that was created to counter the former ,soviet ,union's aggression1 and1 more recently1 provides a needed deterrent capability against an increasingly belligerent ,russia2 ,whereas the ,russian ,federation has increased militarization in the region in the last few years1 and the prime target of this aggression is our ,european allies1 and ,,nato is a critical defense against this type of military aggression2 ,whereas the ,russian ,federation has increasingly used cyberwarfare as a weapon against democracies and democratic institutions1 including in ,estonia in #bjjg1 ,lithuania in #bjjh1 ,ukraine in #bjad1 ,germany in #bjae1 and the ,united ,states in #bjaf2 ,whereas in response to the ,russian ,federation's invasion of ,ukraine1 the ,united ,states1 in close coordination with its ,european partners1 imposed a series of escalating rounds of sanctions on business transactions in the ,united ,states with respect to both ,russian individuals and ,russian companies1 and in addition through travel bans2 ,whereas in response to the ,russian ,federation's interference in the #bjaf ,united ,states elections1 the ,united ,states issued sanctions against ,russian intelligence agents and entities1 expelled #ce ,russian personnel registered with the ,russian diplomatic mission in the ,united ,states and listed them as persona non grata1 and shut down two ,russian compounds in ,maryland and ,new ,york alleged to have been used for intelligence activities2 ,whereas the ,,fbi generally does not publicize ongoing investigations1 except in extraordinary circumstances in which it believes it is in the public interest1 and ,,fbi ,director ,comey testified at the ,,hpsci ,hearing1 ,this is one of those circumstances2 ,whereas ,director ,comey further testified that the ,,fbi is investigating the ,russian government's efforts to interfere in the #bjaf presidential election2 ,whereas ,director ,comey further testified that the ,,fbi's criminal and counterintelligence investigations include investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the ,trump campaign and the ,russian government1 and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and ,russia's efforts2 ,whereas coordination between a foreign adversary and members of a ,united ,states presidential campaign during the adversary's attack on our democracy would be an unprecedented assault on the government and democratic process of the ,united ,states2 and ,whereas the extensive ties between ,president ,trump's campaign and ,administration with ,president ,putin's government and associated individuals1 ,president ,trump's statements and those of his ,administration toward ,president ,putin and his government about defense policy as it relates to the ,russian ,federation1 and the ongoing criminal and counterintelligence investigations by the ,,fbi1 raise enough serious questions about the intent and influence behind any policy decisions the ,president or his ,administration may make with respect to ,president ,putin and the ,government of the ,russian ,federation or otherwise affecting them3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 ,president ,trump1 his family1 his business associates1 his campaign associates1 and members of his ,administration should cooperate fully with all investigations undertaken which examine the ,russian ,federation's attack on our democracy during the #bjaf ,united ,states elections1 ties between officials with ,president ,trump's campaign and the ,russian ,federation1 and possible coordination between these officials and the ,russian ,federation as part of its attack2 7#b7 until the conclusion of the ,,fbi's criminal and counterintelligence investigations into the nature of the ,russian connection to the ,trump campaign1 the ,trump ,administration is acting under a gray cloud of the appearance of a conflict of interest1 and1 as such1 should refrain from taking any actions or making any changes to ,united ,states policy that could be seen as benefitting ,president ,putin or his inner circle2 and 7#c7 the appearance of any conflict of interest concerning a well-resourced1 committed1 and dangerous foreign adversary and the institutions of ,united ,states ,government primarily responsible for national defense and the conduct of foreign policy weakens our national security and erodes confidence between the ,united ,states and our allies4