***Note to Assignment Editors and News Directors: Click HERE to watch Senator King’s remarks and HERE to download broadcast-quality video***

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today on foreign cyber threats to the United States, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) continued his push for transparency surrounding Russia’s interference in the U.S. election to help guard against future intrusions.

Senator King has been a strong proponent of allowing the American people to see and understand, to the greatest extent possible, Russia’s involvement in the election, saying that an educated and vigilant public is a critical line of defense against cyber-intrusions and attempts to influence our electoral process. He has called on President Obama to declassify intelligence related to Russia’s involvement and has advocated for public hearings.

In the hearing today with the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), James R. Clapper, Senator King discussed his meeting last month with several officials from the Baltic States who described to him Russia’s repeated attempts to involve themselves in their elections and spread disinformation. Those same officials emphasized the importance of making the public aware of Russian attempts to deceive them via disinformation.

“That’s why I think public hearings like this are so important and the public discussion of this issue are so important because we aren’t going to be able to prevent this altogether but we need to have our people understand when they are being manipulated,” Senator King said.

Senator King also said that some people in Maine are skeptical of Russia’s influence and have asked for proof of Russia’s interference. DNI Clapper strongly agreed with Senator King’s point about releasing more information to help increase public awareness, but emphasized the importance of protecting the sources and methods used to obtain that information.

###