In response to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s announcement that 13 Russian individuals have been indicted for interfering in our 2016 election, DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement:

“It is a cold hard fact that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 election. We know for a fact that they hacked into the Democratic National Committee. We know for a fact that they hacked into voter registration systems across the country and used social media to sow discord and spread disinformation among voters. And we know for a fact that their goal was to help elect Donald Trump. Now, this indictment gives us a chilling look at just how sophisticated, well-funded and wide-ranging this attack on our democracy really was. It should send chills up the spine of every American. 

“Yet, President Trump continues to deny these facts.  And Republican in Congress continue to spread falsehoods to tarnish the very investigation that is beginning to hold Russia accountable for its actions in 2016. In fact, just this week, we learned that Trump hasn’t directed his senior intelligence officials to take any action to prevent future Kremlin attacks – which those same officials all agree are inevitable in the 2018 midterms and beyond. If the president won’t uphold the oath he took to protect our nation’s security, he has no place in the Oval Office. And if Republican leaders in Congress can’t put the interests of our democracy before politics, they have no place in Congress. 

“This investigation has grave implications for the integrity of our democracy. Donald Trump and his Republican enablers’ efforts to discredit it only embolden Russia and makes them all accomplices to future attacks on our elections.”