Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., led a group of 11 to press on U.S. Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin to immediately sanction all individuals and entities working on behalf of the Russian government to turn the upcoming election.
"It is long past time for the administration to send a direct message to President Putin: the U.S. will respond immediately and forcefully to continuing election interference by the government of the Russian Federation and its surrogates," the senators wrote in a letter.
The senators cited National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director William Evanina's Aug. 7 statement that the intelligence community was concerned about potential efforts from China, Russia and Iran to influence the presidential election.
Though China prefers that U.S. President Donald Trump not win reelection, Russia "is using a range of measures to primarily denigrate former Vice President Biden," Evaniva said.
Evaniva reported that Andriy Derkach, a pro-Russia Ukrainian politician, was spreading claims of corruption to undermine Biden's presidential campaign. Additionally, some Kremlin-linked actors are using social media and Russian television to boost Trump's candidacy, Evaniva said.
Citing this information, the senators called on Mnuchin to swiftly locate and sanction actors meddling in the election. "There is virtually no national security threat more serious than that posed by those who would undermine confidence in, and the effective operation of, our democratic elections," they wrote.
According to Evaniva's Aug. 7 statement, Russian interference is "consistent" with Moscow criticism of Biden over his role in the Obama administration.
In 2014, the administration began taking broad swipes at Russia's energy, banking and defense sectors in response to Russia's occupation of the Crimean Peninsula. Russia was hit with another round of sanctions in December 2016 following the hack of the Democratic National Committee.
Those later sanctions are currently the centerpiece in the ongoing criminal trial against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, who has pled guilty to lying about a conversation with then-Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about the 2016 sanctions.
Following Evaniva's brief, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe canceled the office's briefs on election interference. The decision triggered criticism from across the political aisle with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., deeming it a "shocking abdication of [the office's] lawful responsibility" and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., observing that "congressional oversight of intelligence activities now faces a crisis."
The Russian Embassy in the U.S. didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
A Treasury spokesperson said the department doesn't generally comment on communications or correspondence with Congress.
---Additional reporting by Alex Lawson. Editing by JoVona Taylor.
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