double negative

On January 6, 2017, I was the first member of Congress to stand up and object to Trump's electoral vote certification on the House floor because even then, serious concerns had been raised about Putin interfering significantly with our elections and our democracy. I wanted a full investigation because I was afraid of the possibilities of a foreign power interfering in our election.

The truth is even worse than what I feared.

We now know that Putin personally ordered cyberattacks on the United States, and Trump knew about it even before he took office! But because he was so insecure about his election, he didn't bring it up. And now, he's weakening our allies and trying to curry favor with Putin by siding with him and against America's intelligence and law enforcement officials. Just last week, he said that he didn't think that Russia was continuing to target us immediately after his own Director of National Intelligence said the exact opposite.

The fact is that Trump is Putin's puppet. He's playing right into Russia's plan to destabilize our democracy and upend the international norms that the United States has worked so hard to build over the last decades.

When it comes to revelations like this, it's easy for us to feel powerless – Republicans who refuse to lift a finger against Trump control the House and the Senate, while Fox News blares white nationalist talking points every minute like a fascist propaganda outlet.

But I haven't stopped fighting – I believe our democracy is worth it.

We're going to end voter suppression. We're going to make our elections stronger and more secure, and we're going to protect the precious gift of self-government that's been entrusted to us all.

Together, we'll strengthen and restore our democracy, and emerge even stronger and more prosperous than before.

Jim