{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/murphy-blumenthal-call-for-further-probe-of-russia-after-sanctions", "Murphy, Blumenthal Call For Further Probe Of Russia After Sanctions", "2016-12-31", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "CT", "Christopher Murphy", "M001169", "www.murphy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Murphy, Blumenthal Call For Further Probe Of Russia After Sanctions\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n                \r\n            \r\n            \r\n            \r\n\r\n                \r\n                \r\n\r\n                    \r\n                    Stamford Daily Voice\r\n                    \r\n                    \r\n                \r\n            Saturday, December 31, 2016\r\n            \n\t\n\r\n            \r\n            FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. \u2014\u00a0U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal (both D-Conn.) are praising the sanctions authorized by President Barack Obama in response to Russia's attempts to interfere with the U.S. presidential election.\r\n\"All Americans should be alarmed by Russia\u2019s actions,\"\u00a0Obama said in a statement. The\u00a0Russian government\u2019s aggressive harassment of U.S. officials and cyber operations aimed at the U.S. election followed\u00a0\"repeated private and public warnings that we have issued to the Russian government, and are a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm U.S. interests in violation of established international norms of behavior,\" he said.\r\nMurphy applauded the sanctions and also called for a bipartisan investigation into Russian interference.\r\nRussian President Vladimir \u201cPutin's aggression is a direct attack on our democracy and our institutions of government, and the sanctions and expulsions announced today send a strong, clear message that these actions have consequences,\u201d Murphy said.\r\nMurphy said his Republican colleagues in the Senate have long called out Obama\u00a0for being too weak on Russia.\r\n\u201cI encourage them to now work with Democrats to conduct a thorough, bipartisan public investigation into Russia\u2019s interference, and make it clear that the United States will not hesitate to impose additional consequences if their illegal, destabilizing actions continue,\u201d said Murphy.\r\nBlumenthal echoed Murphy's stance. \"These sanctions are a well-deserved and well-delivered step, long overdue and only the beginning of necessary action in response to Russian cyber attacks on our nation,\" Blumenthal said.\r\n\u201cA strong, immediate bipartisan Select Committee investigation is vital to buttress additional steps and reveal the full scope and scale of Russian aggression,\u201d he said.\r\nBlumenthal said the American people deserve a thorough, comprehensive inquiry to determine the full extent of hostile action by the Russian government \u2014 and to develop appropriate, ongoing enforcement actions and countermeasures.\r\nHe added that it will also be the responsibility of the Trump administration \u201cto rigorously enforce these sanctions \u2014 a responsibility I hope the President-elect takes with the seriousness it deserves.\"\u200e\r\nAs part of the sanctions,\u00a0Obama expelled 35 Russian intelligence operatives and sanctioned five Russian entities and four people: two Russian intelligence agencies, four officers of the intelligence agency GRU, and three companies that support GRU's operations.\r\nThis was in response to the alleged Russian cyberattacks\u00a0on Democratic political organizations during the 2016 presidential campaign.\r\nThe U.S. is also shutting down two Russian compounds, in Maryland and New York, used by Russia for intelligence-gathering purposes.\r\n\"Russia\u2019s cyber activities were intended to influence the election, erode faith in U.S. democratic institutions, sow doubt about the integrity of our electoral process, and undermine confidence in the institutions of the U.S. government,\" said a statement from the White House.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/murphy-blumenthal-call-for-further-probe-of-russia-after-sanctions"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9970869868993759, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}