Russia, Iran meddling in elex: feds
Russia and Iran have obtained “voter registration information” on American citizens and are using it in their separate schemes to influence next month’s presidential election, the Trump administration’s top intelligence official said Wednesday.
In a hastily arranged press conference at Justice Department headquarters in Washington, John Ratcliffe, the director of the Office of National Intelligence, said the two countries are using the data to target individual voters with “false information” to “cause confusion, sow chaos and undermine your confidence in American democracy” with just two weeks to go until Election Day.
“These actions are desperate attempts by desperate adversaries,” said Ratcliffe, who appeared with FBI Director Christopher Wray for the rare press briefing.
Ratcliffe, who was handpicked to his post by President Trump despite having no previous intelligence experience, notably didn’t divulge Russia’s motivations for stealing the data. He did, however, shed light on Iran’s alleged motives.
“We have already seen Iran sending spoofed emails designed to intimidate voters, incite social unrest and damage President Trump,” Ratcliffe said.
Ratcliffe said Russia has “obtained some voter information just like they did in 2016,” but didn’t elaborate beyond that.
The omission is notable, since William Evanina, the U.S. government’s top counterintelligence official, ascertained in a memo over the summer that Russia is interfering in the election to help Trump and hurt Joe Biden, his Democratic challenger.
Evanina’s conclusion on Iran was more sweeping in saying that the Islamic Republic is seeking to “undermine” Trump and U.S. democratic institutions at large to “divide the country in advance of the 2020 election.”
Ratcliffe, who as a Republican congressman was vehemently critical of the various federal investigations into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, said Iran’s interference activities include a recent dissemination of threatening emails to voters.
Ratcliffe did not mention that the emails in question were sent to registered Democrats in at least four battleground states, including Florida and Pennsylvania, and that their apparent intent was to help Trump.