No U.S.-Russia cyber unit without Trump
notifying Congress, bill says
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[August 23, 2017]
By Dustin Volz
(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump
would be required to notify U.S. lawmakers before creating a joint
U.S.-Russia cyber security unit - an idea that has drawn criticism
across the political spectrum - under legislation advancing in Congress.
The proposal, if it became law, would be the latest in a series of
maneuvers by Congress that either limit the president's authority on
Russia matters or rebuke his desire to warm relations with Moscow.
A provision contained within the annual Intelligence Authorization Act
and passed by the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee 14-1 would require
the Trump administration to provide Congress with a report describing
what intelligence would be shared with Russia, any counterintelligence
concerns and how those concerns would be addressed.
The bill, which grants congressional approval for clandestine operations
carried out by the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies, passed the
Senate Intelligence Committee in July, but its text was only recently
made public because it involves sensitive intelligence operations.
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Trump last month said on Twitter that he and Russian President Vladimir
Putin had discussed establishing "an impenetrable Cyber Security unit"
to address issues like the risk of cyber meddling in elections.
Trump quickly backpedaled on the idea, which was criticized by
Democrats, senior Republicans and the National Security Agency director.
The White House and Senator Richard Burr, the Republican chairman of the
intelligence panel, were not immediately available for comment on the
bill.
WARMER RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA
Trump wants to improve relations with Russia, a desire that has been
hamstrung by the conclusions of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia
interfered in the 2016 presidential election to help Republican Trump
against Democrat Hillary Clinton.
U.S. congressional panels and a special counsel are investigating the
interference and possible collusion between Russia and members of
Trump's campaign. Moscow has denied any meddling and Trump has denied
any collusion.
Previously, Congress tied the president's hands on Russia by passing a
bill that Trump cannot ease the sanctions against Russia unless he seeks
congressional approval.
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![](../images/082317pics/news_w43.jpg)
President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House in
Washington, August 22, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
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In August, the Senate blocked Trump from being able to make recess
appointments while lawmakers were on break, fearing the president
would fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions over his handling of the
Russian probe.
Lawmakers have also introduced legislation to stop Trump from having
the ability to fire Robert Mueller, the special counsel appointed to
determine whether there was collusion between Trump's 2016
presidential campaign and Moscow.
The annual Intelligence Authorization Act requires approval by the
full Senate and House and the president's signature before it can
become law. No vote has been scheduled and the last act was passed
by Congress in March.
The legislation's provision requiring notification of any
U.S.-Russia cybersecurity unit was pushed by Democratic Senator Ron
Wyden, his office said on Tuesday.
Wyden also helped secure provisions in the bill that call for an
intelligence report assessing the threat posed to the United States
by Russian money laundering and another report examining whether
cyber vulnerabilities in U.S. cell networks, including a known bug
in the global mobile network Signaling System No. 7, or SS7, are
being exploited by foreign governments to conduct surveillance on
Americans.
Wyden was the lone committee vote against the bill, however.
He said in a statement on Tuesday that he objected to language that
identified the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks as a "non-state hostile
intelligence service" because doing so could have implications for
journalists.
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(This version of the story was refiled to correct "conclusion" to
"collusion" in paragraph 9)
(Reporting by Dustin Volz in San Francisco; Editing by Lisa
Shumaker)
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