Specifically, Evanina called on Russia, China and Iran for trying to interfere with the American democratic process, an effort that includes attacking “the private communications of political campaigns, candidates and other political objectives of the United States.”
He also described a wide variety of other potential threats before November, including foreign adversaries trying to compromise electoral infrastructure, and malicious cyber actors trying to access state and federal networks.
But while the statement was intended to “share ideas with the American public about foreign threats to our elections and offer steps to citizens across the country to build resistance and help mitigate these threats,” it was not well received by the top Democrats in Congress.
In a joint statement on their own Friday, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi of California, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, House Intelligence Speaker Adam Schiff of California and Vice President of Intelligence from Virginia Senate Mark Warner criticized Evanina, saying it “wasn’t” nearly enough to arm the American people with the knowledge they need about how foreign powers seek to influence our political process. “
“A much more concrete and specific statement needs to be made for the American people, consistent with the need to protect sources and methods. We can trust the American people to know what to do with the information they receive and to make those decisions for themselves. ” But they cannot do it if they remain in the dark about what our adversaries are doing and how they are doing it, “the statement said.
Evanina noted some details regarding what US intelligence officials are seeing from Russia, China and Iran, but she also made clear that “our ideas and judgments will evolve as the election season progresses.”
“China is expanding its influence efforts to shape the political environment in the United States, pressuring political figures it considers to be opposed to China’s interests, and countering criticism of China. Beijing recognizes that its efforts could affect the presidential race.” , said.
“Russia’s persistent goal is to weaken the United States and diminish our global role. Using a variety of efforts, including internet trolls and other representatives, Russia continues to spread disinformation in the United States that is designed to undermine confidence in our democratic process and denigrate what it sees as an anti-Russia “establishment” in the United States, “added Evanina.
Democrats claimed Evanina’s warning “gives a false sense of equivalence to the actions of foreign adversaries by listing three countries with unequal intentions, motivations, and capabilities.”
“The statement, furthermore, does not fully delineate the objective, nature, scope and ability to influence our elections, the information that the American people must have as we move forward in November. Simply saying, for example, that Russia It seeks to ‘denigrate what it sees as an anti-Russia’ establishment ‘in the United States’ is so generic that it almost makes no sense. The statement omits a lot on a topic of immense importance, “they added.
Later on Friday, an ODNI official rejected that criticism and told CNN that the statement “in no way minimizes Russia’s threats related to the elections, which are very serious and that we have repeatedly informed leaders of Congress.”
“However, other actors in the nation state have entered the arena of electoral threats to a great extent and cannot be ignored. This is the 2020 elections, not 2016,” the official said. “To be clear, what we are explaining in the declaration is that there are serious threats to our elections by multiple nations, not just one. There is no particular order or weight by which the actors in the threat are listed in the declaration. “
“This is the beginning of a conversation with the American public. There is more to follow. Over the next 100 days, we will continue to update the American public and other key stakeholders on the election threats and mitigation steps,” they added. . .
Democrats concerned about a repeat of 2016
Evanina’s statement comes as the campaign between former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump is heating up, and Democrats are already signaling that they are on guard for a repeat of 2016, when Russia interfered in the presidential election to benefit Trump.
Pelosi, Schumer and top Democratic intelligence committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate sent a letter earlier this month to FBI Director Chris Wray, demanding a briefing for all lawmakers on a foreign interference campaign that ” seeks to wash away and expand disinformation. “
Lawmakers did not detail details in the letter to Wray, which was published publicly on Monday.
But a classified ad sent to the FBI included concerns about a possible Russian campaign targeting Biden, a source familiar with the situation said, including information from entities with ties to Russia being provided to Senate President of Homeland Security Ron Johnson. , a Wisconsin Republican who is leading an investigation into Biden, his son Hunter Biden and the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
Schiff also separately warned that Russia is again trying to interfere in the United States presidential election.
“The lights were flashing red then. And now they are flashing red,” Schiff said in a speech, adding that Russia will likely attempt to use many of the same tactics it deployed in 2016, as well as “new efforts to influence the outcome this fall. . ”
“American people, including elected officials, may be the target of a foreign interference campaign, which seeks to launder or amplify disinformation to affect our public debate, discourse, and decision about who should be the next president of the United States,” added. , describing concerns similar to those raised in the letter to Wray.
Multiple sources with knowledge of the matter told CNN on Friday that House Democrats are discussing providing the full house with access to classified information detailing foreign efforts to interfere in the 2020 election and harm the former vice president’s chances. Joe Biden.
Sources said that if the FBI does not report to Congress, the House Intelligence Committee could vote starting next week to allow all members of the House to access classified information. A Schiff spokesman declined to comment.
The White House declines to say whether Trump raised election interference with Putin.
Despite warnings about Moscow’s efforts to interfere in the upcoming elections for members of the intelligence community and Congress, the White House continues to dismiss questions about whether Trump has raised the issue directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
When asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Friday if Trump had mentioned interference in the Russian elections during a phone call between the two leaders the previous day, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany declined to respond, saying that “He was not on the call,” and the president said “he has taken more measures for electoral security than his predecessor.”
When pressed on the subject, he told Collins to “stop filtering.”
Despite the White House’s general insistence that Trump has done more to address electoral security than President Barack Obama, there is little evidence to suggest that he has taken significant steps to reject Russia’s continued efforts to interfere with the democratic process. U.S.
Ever since he became president, Trump has constantly questioned the intelligence community’s assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election with the aim of helping him be elected and damaging the campaign of then-Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton, even during a conference. release with Putin.
The dispute over what was said during the closed-door meeting with lawmakers in February unfolded publicly and ultimately helped fuel Trump’s decision to effectively expel then-interim director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire.
The president had been angry at Maguire for that briefing, a White House official told CNN at the time. Soon after, Maguire formally resigned after Trump made it clear that he would not be nominated for the post of permanent intelligence chief, a source familiar with the matter said.
Trump then installed Richard Grenell, a loyal man with no intelligence background, as acting director. Grenell’s term was brief but controversial, as he often clashed with Democratic lawmakers over accusations of politicizing intelligence.
In May, Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, was confirmed as Trump’s top intelligence official in a Senate vote. Trump initially chose Ratcliffe last year to be his spymaster after Ratcliffe’s aggressive questioning of former special adviser Robert Mueller, and Trump’s decision to rename him this year came after he was a key advocate for the president during the Chamber impeachment procedures.
Ratcliffe will now play a critical role in deciding which documents to publish in the midst of an election amid expanding Congressional investigations targeting Obama administration officials and Biden, Trump’s electoral opponent.
Ratcliffe will also lead the intelligence community’s response to the Russian election meddling in the 2020 election. Ratcliffe has been unequivocal in believing that Russia has interfered and will continue to interfere in the US election, but has not sided with one. from the key findings of the intelligence community: that Russia was trying to help Trump in 2016.
CNN’s Hayley Byrd, Jeremy Herb and Manu Raju contributed to this report.
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