FOR RELEASE 1/26/2017
Al Carroll
Indivisibles District 10
District 10 Citizens Concerned about Foreign Involvement in Elections
Sterling, VA: On Thursday, January 26th, an estimated group of 30 Loudoun County residents met at Rep. Comstock’s office, speaking to her staff members Lucy Norment and Erin Rayner to demand an immediate bi-partisan Congressional investigation into the confirmed reports of Russian involvement in the 2016 general elections. Rep. Comstock has a large number of defense and intelligence agency employees and contractors in Congressional District 10 who have sworn to safeguard classified information and undergo extensive, routine background investigations. It is imperative that she holds the incoming administration to the same standard.
We met with Rep. Comstock to request her support of H.R. 356, the Protecting Our Democracy Act. The bill is already sponsored by 190 House Democrats but no Republicans. Based upon her constituents, and her role on the House Administration Committee, and the Committee for Science, Space and Technology she has a vested interest in our federal elections and the nations response to a cyber-attack from a foreign government. We are worried that now the election and inauguration are over, the Congress will quickly move on and fail to fulfill their Congressional obligation of oversight.
One of our group members, Guy Potucek said: “I have held a security clearance for almost 20 years. I take pride in the work done by the companies and agencies that I’ve supported in that time. I also take my job in protecting our classified information very seriously. It concerns me greatly that not only is the President of the United States, his National Security Advisor and members of his appointees are under less scrutiny. Major media outlets are reporting evidence of their direct involvement with the Russian government.”
In December, we formed a bi-partisan group of concerned citizens that intend to holding our representative accountable through frequent, direct interactions with our Members of Congress.
The members of Indivisible District 10 were represented in part by a lifelong Republican who voted against Trump, and myself, a supporter of independent conservative candidate Evan McMullin. Our members, as well as that of all Indivisible Chapters, reaches across all party lines, with Democrats, Republicans, independents, and third party voters. Participants were respectful but passionate. We had a diverse group, not only in demographics but also party affiliation. We will be heard if we continue to be respectful, passionate, and diverse. We are determined to resist Donald Trump’s destructive and un-American agenda by all legal means. Again, we urge Rep. Comstock, other members of Congress, and the American public to support a bi-partisan investigation of the Russian role in the election and not settle for an investigation in name only by Republican-dominated committees.