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Washington, D.C. - Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today released the following statement on the International Olympic Committee's decision to expel Russia from the 2018 Winter Games:

"I commend the International Olympic Committee for protecting the integrity of the Olympic Games from sordid Russian doping schemes. Of course, cheating on this scale could only occur in Russia with Vladimir Putin's approval and the support of his intelligence services and Ministry of Sport. This punishment, while unprecedented, is appropriate and fitting. Putin's scheme to steal gold medals from deserving athletes around the world was merely another way to distract his own people from Russia's failing economy and his corrupt and repressive rule. Instead, Russia's expulsion from the Olympic Games now highlights the corruption at the black heart of the Kremlin."

Background: Senator Cotton has long advocated for the Olympic Committee to punish Russia for its doping activities. He released this statement after a former conspirator came forward about a Russian doping scheme. And in July 2016 he urged the Olympic Committee to punish Russia after the World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed those allegations, saying in part, "It is pathetic that Putin felt the need to cheat at the Sochi Olympics, and it is pathetic to watch him play dumb today and shift blame by suspending lower-level officials." Click here to read that statement in full.