PRESS RELEASE

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Senators McCain, Graham Prepare New Sanctions on Russia

Jan. 6, 2017 (EIRNS)—Senators John "lost his marbles" McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey "little old lady" Graham (R-S.C.) are crafting a bill to impose new sanctions on Russia, reportedly targeting that country’s financial and energy sectors, Politico reported today. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) is the bill’s chief sponsor and expects to introduce it next week.

The trio will attempt to cast the bill as a bipartisan effort. Cardin says he’s trying to get two other Democrats and at least one other Republican to sign onto the bill, but claims there is "lots" of support for it from both sides of the aisle. So far, only McCain and Graham are backing the bill publicly, but McCain told Politico that he too is sure that "plenty of people" will sign up, especially after yesterday’s hearing on Russian hacking at the Senate Armed Services Committee.

With the demise of the Trans-Atlantic system staring him in the face, Sen. Graham tried to argue that Russia is "interested in trying to undermine international organizations like the European Union and NATO and create discord in our own backyard."

Cardin lamented the fact that even if the bill goes through, there’s no guarantee that Trump will enforce it, as it would include a "national security waiver" which would permit him to waive the sanctions if he deemed that doing so were in the best interests of the country.