MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th December, 2019) US Lawmaker Mike Crapo blocked legislation that sought to streamline the imposition of sanctions against Russia and other countries accused of meddling in US elections, media reported Wednesday.
The Senator from Idaho shot down a bipartisan draft bill dubbed Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines, or DETER Act on Tuesday arguing that the bill is politicized against President Donald Trump and that further retribution against Russia was unwarranted, according to political newspaper The Hill.
"The mechanisms in this bill have been designed more to attack the Trump administration and Republicans than to attack the Russians and those who would attack our country and our elections," Crapo said according to The Hill.
Crapo added that Trump has put more sanctions on Russia than any other president and that any further sanctions would be a "two-edged sword," The Hill reported.
Late last July, Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen and Republican Senator Marco Rubio proposed legislation that would require the US Director of National Intelligence to issue a report after every election on whether or not Russia had interfered. In the case meddling was detected, new sanctions would have to be implemented within 30 days, the newspaper explained.
The report was published less than a day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made an official visit to Washington where he met with President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. In a post on Twitter after the meeting, Trump said that the two discussed election meddling among other things.
