Russia meddling again, U.S. intel officials say
WASHINGTON » Just weeks into this year’s a cycle, Russia already is actively interfering in the U.S. presidential campaign in hopes of re-electing President Donald Trump, and also is trying to help the candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side, intelligence officials have concluded.
The Russian efforts are aimed at undermining public confidence in the integrity of U.S. elections and stirring general chaos in American politics, intelligence experts say.
Lawmakers were told in a classified briefing last week that Russia is taking steps that would help Trump, according to officials familiar with the briefing. And Sanders acknowledged Friday that he was briefed last month by U.S. officials about Russian efforts to boost his candidacy.
The revelations demonstrate that the specter of foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election will almost certainly be a cloud over the campaign, and possibly even the final results if the contest is close. Democrats have consistently criticized Trump for not doing more to deter the Russians and others, and now they have fresh evidence to support their concerns.
Sanders condemned Russia and called on President Vladimir Putin to steer clear of U.S. politics.
“I don’t care, frankly, who Putin wants to be president,” Sanders said. “My message to Putin is clear: Stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do.”
Trump took a different tack in responding to news that the House Intelligence Committee earlier this month had been briefed by U.S. intelligence experts that Russia was attempting to ensure his reelection.
On Friday, he sought to minimize the new warnings by his government intelligence experts and revived old grievances in claiming any problem was just Democrats trying to undermine the legitimacy of his presidency.
The president started the day on Twitter, claiming that Democrats were pushing a “misinformation campaign” in hopes of politically damaging him.
Later, making light of the intelligence findings at a campaign rally in Las Vegas, he suggested that Russia might actually prefer Sanders in the White House.
“Wouldn’t he rather have, let’s say, Bernie?” Trump said. “Wouldn’t he rather have Bernie, who honeymooned in Moscow?”
The fresh warnings about Russian interference came in what has been a tumultuous stretch for the intelligence community.
A day after the Feb. 13 briefing to the House Intelligence Committee, Trump berated the acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire in a meeting at the White House. Then this week, Trump abruptly announced that Maguire would be replaced by Richard Grenell, a Trump loyalist who also will hold the job in an acting capacity.
In addition to Maguire, two other senior officials will soon leave the agency.
Andrew Hallman, one of Maguire’s top deputies, announced Friday that he would leaving. He is expected to return to the CIA, where he has spent more than 30 years, according to an official familiar with the move, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the personnel move. Jason Klitenic, the general counsel for the national intelligence director’s office, is returning to private practice. Klitenic’s departure is unrelated to the sudden shakeup by Trump.