Russian propaganda has managed to seep its way to Congress and has infected a good part of the Republican base, House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner acknowledged to CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.
The Ohio Republican said it is "absolutely true we see — directly coming from Russia — attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages, some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor."
Turner was asked about House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul's comment in an article published Tuesday that Russian propaganda has "infected a good chunk" of the GOP base.
Turner, who has been a staunch supporter of passing additional aid to Ukraine, told CNN, "There are members of Congress today who still incorrectly say that this conflict between Russia and Ukraine is over NATO, which, of course, it is not."
He stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has "made it very clear, both publicly and to his own population, that his view is that this is a conflict of a much broader claim of Russia to Eastern Europe, including claiming all of Ukraine territory as Russia's."
Turner added: "To the extent that this propaganda takes hold, it makes it more difficult for us to really see this as an authoritarian-versus-democracy battle, which is what it is. President Xi [Jinping] of China, Vladimir Putin himself have identified it as such.
"We need to stand up for democracy. We need to make certain that we know that authoritarian regimes never stop when they start an aggression."
The Senate passed a $95.3 billion foreign aid bill two months ago that included funding for Ukraine and Israel, but House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., refused to immediately bring the package for a vote due to opposition from Republicans.
More recently, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., filed a motion to vacate and has threatened to go through with it if Johnson moves ahead with an aid package for Ukraine.
But Turner said: "I don't think he's at any risk. I think that what people have been referring to is the chaos caucus, those individuals who are seeking attention for themselves and trying to stop all of the important work in Congress, are now seen as merely disruptive."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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