US: Russia could target election candidates
The Department of Homeland Security and FBI warned states earlier this year that Russia could look to interfere in the 2020 US elections by covertly advising political candidates and campaigns, according to a law enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press.
The February 3 document details tactics US officials believe Russia could use to interfere in this year’s elections, including secretly advising candidates and campaigns. It says though officials “have not previously observed Russia attempt this action against the United States”, political strategists working for a business mogul close to President Vladimir Putin have been involved in political campaigning in African countries.
The memo underscores how Trump administration officials are continuing to sound alarms about the prospect of future Russian interference in American politics even as President Donald Trump has sought to downplay the Kremlin’s involvement in his 2016 win over Hillary Clinton.
The document, titled Possible Russian Tactics Ahead of 2020 US
Election, does not identify particular candidates or campaigns Russia might support through its actions. US officials have said Russia took steps to help Trump’s campaign and harm Clinton’s candidacy in 2016. It also says “Russia sought to take advantage of countries that have perceived loopholes in laws preventing foreign campaign assistance”.
That tactic has not yet been observed in the US, the officials wrote, though the document notes that Russian strategists believed to be working for Yevgeny Prigozhin, a wealthy businessman known as “Putin’s chef” because of his ties to Putin, “were involved in political campaigning in approximately 20 African countries during 2019”.
An October report from the Stanford Internet Observatory detailed a social media operation in multiple African countries, attributed to Prigozhin-linked entities, that supported certain candidates, created pages to resemble reliable news coverage and published content and narratives consistent with Russia’s foreign policy aims.
Prigozhin was among the Russians indicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation for his role in a furtive social media campaign aimed at sowing discord among Americans ahead of the 2016 US election.