CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Congressman Mike Quigley
Interview
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[09:36:54]
SCIUTTO: Well, overnight, the U.S. government confirmed that an unprecedented, widespread hacking campaign is underway and still underway against U.S. federal agencies. The attacks believed to be carried out by Russian military intelligence are so massive that federal officials are still trying to understand the entire scope.
To be clear, this hacking attack tied to Russia is unlike nothing the U.S. has ever seen. Critical government agencies remain compromised as we speak and it will take months, we're told, to know the full scale of the damage to America's cyber security.
Where is President Trump on this? He has said nothing about these attacks. His former Homeland Security adviser, Tom Bossert, in a "New York Times" op-ed says the current commander in chief has to act now. He writes, quote, President Trump is on the verge of leaving behind a federal government and perhaps a large number of major industries compromised by the Russian government. That's Tom Bossert. He was appointed by and served as president.
Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois. He sits on the House Intelligence Committee.
Congressman, thanks so much for taking time this morning.
REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): Good morning. SCIUTTO: You've been briefed on this. I will not pressure you to get
into classified areas. But big picture here, can we say confidently that this was Russia behind this?
QUIGLEY: Look, the Russians were responsible for the 2016 attack on our democracy and the entire intelligence community said so with a high level of certainty. Most intel officials under this president have said the Russians will be back and then they said they've never gone away. So they remain high on the list of those responsible -- who could be responsible for actions like this. We need to be vigilant against them and responsive to them and all who act like this.
SCIUTTO: Senator Dick Durbin, number two senator in the Democratic leadership on that side of The Hill, told me the following yesterday, and I want to get your reaction.
Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): We can't be buddies with Vladimir Putin and have him at the same time making this kind of cyberattack on America. This is virtually a declaration of war by Russia on the United States and we should take that seriously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: If it is confirmed to be Russia, would you agree with that assessment, this is virtually a declaration of war given the scope of this?
QUIGLEY: Oh, absolutely. And, look, we saw these threats coming and not just from Russia. But, again, in 2016, when this happened, President Obama told Putin to cut it out and they put sanctions in place. That's the kind of thing, that's the kind of bold action that has to take place.
I don't expect it under this president. I do expect it under the upcoming administration. And I can see by the appointments that are being made so far that they're putting experienced, tough people in place who can hit the ground running to face this challenge because it is unprecedented, if not foreseen. And it's going to take us months.
The dirty fact is, most entities don't know they've been hacked.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
QUIGLEY: They don't know they've been hacked for a long time.
SCIUTTO: This president has rarely, if ever, stood up to Russia on a whole host of things.
[09:40:01]
He has still not commented on this -- on this hack. As you know, he took the side of Vladimir Putin on Russian interference in the election as to whether Russia was behind that. He has still not commented publically on the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, which U.S. intelligence has assessed Russia was behind.
By that omission, did this president, in effect, invite an attack like this?
QUIGLEY: I think so. I think what's troubling is the fact that -- look, I was there from day one on the investigation of what Russia did and the president's involvement. And it's hard to point to anything particularly that we know about his relationship with President Putin. But he has certainly acted as if Putin has something on him. And it has always impacted our national security. Something we have to move beyond as soon as the next president is inaugurated.
SCIUTTO: What must President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris do to deter Russia? Because this administration did authorize more aggressive offensive cyber activity against Russia. Sanctions have been in place for years now against senior Russian officials with economic cost and yet Russia still acts. Clearly the policy is not working.
What must change?
QUIGLEY: I think first you need to put qualified people in place and let them do their job and trust them publicly. You can't trust Putin over them publicly. And you have to confront the Russian government and Putin.
As important as all this is, we need to reconnect with the rest of the world. We need to reengage. Nothing we do unilaterally will be nearly as valuable and effective than it would be as if we have a unified group of allies with us pushing back on this kind of behavior. It would make sanctions work far more effectively if we have all of our allies working in step with us.
SCIUTTO: Briefly on ongoing stimulus negotiations, Americans' heads are spinning, I'm sure yours is as well with the back and forth, hopeful and not hopeful, some setbacks in appears in the last 24 hours. Will a deal to help Americans who need it happen this week?
QUIGLEY: Look, it absolutely has to. There are those who are desperate in need. I've been to food pantries in my district in the last few weeks. The lines are -- go on for blocks and blocks of people who need food security, housing security. We simply can't leave Washington until we get something done. And my advice to the Biden administration is, we need to go big early. And whatever this deal doesn't do, we simply have to, to help the American people and small businesses everywhere.
SCIUTTO: Final question, some of your Republican colleagues on the Intelligence Committee are calling for your fellow Democrat Eric Swalwell to be removed from the committee following a report that he had been targeted a number of years ago, and granted he reported this to the FBI at the time, by someone now believed to be a Chinese agent.
What's your response to that Republican demand?
QUIGLEY: You know, it seems political in its thrust. The fact of the matter is, what we seem to know so far is that this was an attempt. That sort of attempt could happen to any of us. It was some time ago in which he reported it. If that's all that they have at this point in time, their attack is unfortunately political in nature.
SCIUTTO: Congressman Mike Quigley, we appreciate you coming on this morning and we wish you and your family the best for the holidays.
QUIGLEY: Thank you. Please be safe, everyone.
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