House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) admitted on Sunday that Russian propaganda has made its way to the floor of the United States Congress amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper, Turner said he agreed with House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who told Puck News that Russian propaganda has “infected a good chunk of my party’s base.”
“Oh, it’s absolutely true,” Turner said Sunday. “There are members of Congress today who still incorrectly say that this conflict between Russia and Ukraine is over NATO, which of course it is not.Vladimir Putin having made it very clear, both publicly and to his own population, that his view is that this is a conflict of a much broader claim of Russia to Eastern Europe, including claiming all of Ukrainian territories as Russian.”
Turner said Russian propaganda has made it difficult to pass more aid to Ukraine. A national security package with an additional $60 billion in aid is stalled in the House. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) faces a threat of removal from far-right lawmakers if he brings the bill to the floor.
“Now, to the extent that this propaganda takes hold, it makes it more difficult for us to really see this as an authoritarian versus democracy battle, which is what it is. President Xi of China, Vladimir Putin himself have identified it as such,” Turner said.
“We need to stand up for democracy,” he continued. “We need to make certain that we know that authoritarian regimes never stop when they start an aggression. Ukraine needs our help and assistance now and this is a very critical time for the US Congress to step up and provide that aid.”
