Senators ask Treasury to sanction alleged Russian hackers indicted by Mueller

A bipartisan pair of senators on Tuesday asked the Treasury Department to impose financial sanctions on the 12 Russian intelligence officers indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller last week for allegedly hacking the emails of top Democratic Party officials.

In a Tuesday letter, Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) asked Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to target the alleged cyber-criminals under sanctions enacted by President Trump through executive orders and legislation he signed.

The Justice Department charged 11 members of Russia’s military intelligence wing (GRU) on July 13 with conspiring to illegally access and distribute the emails of Democratic Party leaders, candidates and political committees. Another was charged was attempting to infiltrate systems used to conduct state elections.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated he will not surrender the 12 indicted Russian officers to the United States for prosecution.

Toomey and Van Hollen asked Mnuchin to exercise his “legal authority necessary to impose sanctions on individuals who engage in cyber activities intended to interfere in America’s elections.”

Trump in August 2017 signed a package of new financial sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea. The Treasury Department also targeted five entities and 19 individuals from Russia with sanctions on March 15 for their efforts to disrupt and manipulate the 2016 election. Those sanctions were issued under an executive order signed by Trump the same day.

Treasury in June also imposed sanctions on five companies and technology firms, as well as three executives from one of the companies, who are accused of aiding Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

Toomey and Van Hollen said “it’s critical that the United States employ a comprehensive approach to confront and counter Russia’s malign behavior towards the United States, especially in order to defend the integrity of our elections.”

Both lawmakers are members of the Senate Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over financial sanctions. The panel’s chairman, Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), said Tuesday that he’d hold hearings on stricter Russian sanctions amid growing concerns about Trump’s relationship with Russia.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said Tuesday they are working on legislation to slap new sanctions on Russia as Congress faces pressure to crack down in the wake of the summit between the president and Putin last week.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) also pledged Tuesday to hold hearings on new Russian sanctions.

Senators have been weighing how to respond to the Kremlin after Trump refused to denounce Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election during a news conference alongside Putin in Helsinki.

Menendez and Graham said their bill would target Russia’s debt, energy and financial sectors, cyber actors, and oligarchs close to Putin. It would also ensure the 2017 sanctions legislation, which passed Congress overwhelmingly, is fully implemented.

Boosting sanctions on Russia’s debt and energy and financial sectors could create severe economic consequences that could potentially affect the U.S., however. Lawmakers scrapped planned sanctions on Russian oil last year after U.S. drillers and refineries expressed concerns that the provisions could halt American projects abroad.

Treasury also warned lawmakers in February that further sanctions on Russia’s debt or financial markets could devastate its economy so badly that they could provoke a military response from the Kremlin.

The department also said that banning U.S firms from Russian financial markets could disadvantage American businesses against European rivals that actively trade in the east.

“The magnitude and scope of consequences from expanding sanctions to sovereign debt and derivatives is uncertain and the effects could be born by both the Russian Federation and U.S. investors and businesses,” Treasury said.