The Russian Threat 'Is Real,' Trump Officials Say, Vowing to Protect U.S. Elections

Source: The New York Times


By Michael D. Shear
Aug. 2, 2018

WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials on Thursday vowed to defend the United States’ elections against threats from Russia and other countries, describing influence campaigns by America’s adversaries in blunt terms rarely used by President Trump.

The heads of the nation’s national security agencies said Russia was still trying to influence and disrupt the midterm elections, and they pledged to help local and state governments counter those efforts in the weeks ahead.

“Russia attempted to interfere with the last election,” Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, said, adding that Russian operatives were continuing to operate against the election system in “malign” ways. He said the United States government must face the threat with “fierce determination and focus.”

Mr. Wray and other top national security officials, who spoke at a White House news briefing, did not describe specific threats to the coming elections, and they were vague in saying how the government was responding to what they called Russia’s interference campaign.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/us/politics/russia-election-security-midterm.html

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UPDATE:

On Election Interference, Trump And His Advisers Sound Completely Out Of Step

By Kate Riga | August 2, 2018 2:22 pm

At the White House press briefing Thursday, Sarah Huckabee Sanders brought in the big guns to address election interference, including National Security Adviser John Bolton, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and FBI Director Christopher Wray.


All of them, except for Nielsen, specifically mentioned Russia’s past and future- intended interference in U.S. elections.

Bolton: “Since January 2017, the President has taken decisive action to defend our election systems from meddling and interference. This includes measures to heighten the security and resilience of election systems and processes, to confront Russian and other foreign malign influence in the United States, to confront such aggression through international action, and to reinforce a strong sanctions regime.”

Coats: “In regards to Russian involvement in the midterm elections, we continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States …We also know the Russians tried to hack into and steal information from candidates and government officials alike.”

Wray: “As I have said consistently, Russia attempted to interfere with the last election and continues to engage in malign influence operations to this day. This is a threat we need to take extremely seriously and to tackle and respond to with fierce determination and focus.”

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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/on-election-interference-trump-and-his-advisers-sound-completely-out-of-step