Dem Rep. Speier: Biden ‘Waiting’ for ‘Appropriate’ Time to Respond to Cyberattacks, ‘We Need to Move More Swiftly’

On Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Hallie Jackson Reports,” Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) argued the U.S. needs “to move more swiftly,” in the cyber realm and that President Joe Biden “is waiting for the appropriate moment” to respond to recent cyberattacks that she believes were carried out with the blessing of Vladimir Putin.

Speier said, “I actually am pretty certain in my own mind that nothing happens in Russia without the blessings of Vladimir Putin. So, REvil is a maiden or an agent of Vladimir Putin as far as I’m concerned. So, do we act? Absolutely. I think the president is waiting for the appropriate moment. I certainly don’t have any personal knowledge. But we have the ability to put a similar act in place in Russia.”

She later added that the U.S. is at a disadvantage in the cyber realm, because being an open country delays reaction time, and “So, in this case, I think we need to move more swiftly, and I hope the president takes the action that’s necessary to shut this down. He needs to send a very clear and strong message to Vladimir Putin.”

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