MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
For more on this, we've got Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley with us. He represents Illinois. He's a member of the House Intelligence Committee and a cochair of the bipartisan Congressional Ukraine Caucus. Good morning, Congressman. Thanks for joining us.
MIKE QUIGLEY: Thank you.
MARTIN: So we just heard how Ukraine says it has its access back to Starshield. That's the military version of Starlink. Do you have any visibility into what happened yesterday, and why that access was disrupted and why it seems to be back now?
QUIGLEY: Well, I'm certainly not getting any information from the Trump administration. Yesterday, the ranking member of the Intel Committee, Mr. Himes, announced that we had received no notification of any change in posture with respect to intelligence support to Ukraine, even though the administration is legally obligated to inform us of that. So I'm responding to what the Ukrainians are saying, and obviously, I believe them because they're the ones who are imperiled by all of this.
MARTIN: I understand that you say that the administration has not communicated directly about this, but do you have any indication that this was a deliberate act by either the administration or SpaceX?
QUIGLEY: Well, first, look, let's make something really clear. Elon Musk is correct when he said that Starshield's operated by the Defense Department, so whatever takes place with them is the Department of Defense - in short, President Trump. So you put this in a larger context, the way I would take it if I was Ukraine is sort of an additional warning 'cause you have to couple it with this - Trump buying Russian diesel. They happened at the same time, when he's clearly frustrated with what's in a sense a political problem for him - diesel prices, energy prices, gas prices, inflation. So instead of taking some measure of credit for this or blame for this because of the war in Iran doing this, he finds Zelenskyy as a scapegoat and says it's their fault because they're striking energy targets in Russia. Don't do that.
Obviously, Russia never stopped its attacks on Ukraine, so it's - the only way to describe this is transactional, cowardly, disgusting foreign policy. Our help for Ukraine should be a moral and strategic imperative. Instead, the president's made it like something - I don't know - a New York developer would do. What can I get out of this? And also, the larger context, he's never publicly said - Trump - who he wants to win this war. He's never said that Putin started this. He's said that Ukraine needs a new president, and he's never said that about Putin, despite the fact that he wins in obvious sham elections.
MARTIN: Let me ask you. I've - you've made a number of points here, but let me ask you on the narrow question of this diesel fuel deal - President Trump's announced diesel fuel deal with Russia. Some of your colleagues on both sides of the aisle have voiced objections. Can the president import Russian oil legally without formally notifying Congress that the war is over?
QUIGLEY: No. Congress passed a law in 2022 banning Russia oil imports and he can't simply ignore it. The problem here is he's ignored a lot of laws and my Republican colleagues have refused to call him on it, with the exception of simply a handful. So we recognize - I think they must all - that this is funding Putin's war machine. And that's exactly why Ukraine is attacking energy targets within Russia. It's the only way to keep their people alive.
MARTIN: Do you have any recourse, though, as a member of Congress, if you feel that the president is violating the law - you and others who agree with you?
QUIGLEY: Try to get a few more Republicans to put a bill on the law - a bill on the floor to restrict this. But again, he could ignore that. We can't even sue in the minority, so I suspect when we win the gavels back in the fall and in January, Speaker Jeffries will be able to sue. But if you're asking for remedies, it's either that or impeachment, I suspect.
MARTIN: And do you plan to pursue that?
QUIGLEY: Well, look, first thing, you got to win the election. Second, you've got to appeal to the Republicans to do the right thing here because this is the foreign policy the U.S. should enact.
MARTIN: That is Mike Quigley. He's cochair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, he's a Democrat and he represents a district in Illinois. Mr. Quigley, thanks so much for joining us once again.
QUIGLEY: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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