TEXAS -- Texas lawmakers spoke out Monday following a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, in which President Donald Trump, standing next to Russia’s Vladimir Putin, questioned U.S. intelligence’s conclusion that Russia meddled in the 2016 election.

Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-District 28, released the following statement:

“The U.S. intelligence community has clearly concluded that Russia engaged in state-sponsored interference with the U.S. 2016 Presidential election. It is troubling that our President sees an equivalency between the unbiased and qualified expertise of our intelligence community and the personal word of Russian President Putin. President Trump’s disregard of our intelligence is a disservice to the American people and greatly undermines our Democratic values.”

 

 

Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-District 20, issued the following statement:

“President Donald Trump’s words and actions today at the Helsinki Summit amount to an act of treachery against the American people. He promoted Russia and Vladimir Putin over our nation, and no President has ever looked weaker, more apologetic, and less American on the world stage than President Donald Trump next to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

“The Intelligence Community, national security experts, and Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have all concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 elections to help elect Donald Trump. We must contain the damage by increasing funding in Congress for state election security and holding Russia accountable even when our President refuses. We must also work towards cyber mutual defense agreements with our allies abroad that push back against Russia’s nefarious cyberspace crimes.”

Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas, issued this statement:

“I have personally reviewed the reports of our intelligence agencies work regarding Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. I have also reviewed the report issued by the House Intelligence Committee on this subject.  I trust the hard work of these groups, which have proven that Russia did in fact meddle in our 2016 elections. Even though the actions of the Russians did not affect the outcome of our election, there is no doubt that they did interfere in our election processes. The president should understand that Russia cannot be trusted and that it must be held accountable for its attempted election disruptions against our nation and against our allies.”