Democrats walk out of meeting reporting they fear elections under foreign threat

House Democrats warn that the integrity of the November election is under significant threat from foreign actors, and the Trump administration, they say, is doing its best to hide the danger from the public.

Coming out of a lengthy classified briefing with senior administration officials on Capitol Hill, a large number of Democrats said they now have less confidence that the elections will be safe from outside influence than at the meeting.

“I am not comfortable with what is happening,” said the representative. Steve CohenStephen (Steve) Ira Cohen, the Texas Democrat is proposing legislation requiring masks at federal facilities. Pelosi Pours Cold Water on Dismissal Barr Justice Department officials say decisions are politicized MORE (D-Tenn.) “Very disturbing.”

“Horrible meeting,” said the representative. Ron KindRonald (Ron) James KindBottom line Coronavirus culture war on reopening of economy hits Capitol Hill How the Republican Party hopes to beat the odds in the House battle MORE (D-Wis.)

Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy Pelosi Democrats reject a short-term deal before the unemployment deadline Republican lawmakers meet Pelosi’s mask-mandated floor for the House floor Trump tests Republican loyalty with tweet and stimulus strategy MORE (D-Calif.), Along with the minority leader of the Senate Charles SchumerChuck SchumerLincoln Project Targets Senate Races In Alaska, Maine, Montana With M ad Buying Pelosi, Schumer Says Republican Senate Coronavirus Bill Is ‘Selling To Working Families’ 12:30 Report From The Hill – Presented by Facebook – Barr Showdown with House Democrats MORE (DN.Y.) and Democratic leaders of congressional intelligence committees had requested the briefing in a July 13 letter to the FBI, citing “a concerted campaign of foreign interference” directed at Congress.

That campaign, they wrote, “seeks to launder and amplify disinformation to influence the activity of Congress, the public debate, and the November presidential elections.” They offered no details.

More recently, the same four Democrats had lobbied the administration to issue a public statement informing voters of the threat of electoral interference going to the polls in November.

Leaving Friday’s briefing in the basement of the Capitol Visitor Center, a frustrated Pelosi made it clear that that request has been ignored, suggesting that the administration is hiding the details of the interference campaign for political reasons.

“What worries me is that the American people should be better informed,” Pelosi said.

“Leader Schumer and I wrote to you and told you to tell the truth to the American people and for some reason they are hiding it,” he added. “That’s what worries me”.

Administration officials who held the briefing included Bill Evanina, head of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center; Shelby Pierson, the chief electoral security officer for the intelligence community; Nikki Flores, Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI; Brad Benavides, section chief of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force; and Brandon Wales, strategic director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security.

None of those officials spoke to reporters afterward.

The issue of electoral security and foreign meddling, once an area of ​​broad bipartisan consensus, has become highly politicized under President TrumpDonald John Trump Trump campaign cancels purchase of ads to review messaging strategy: Nunes report declines to respond if it received information from Ukraine lawmaker meant to harm Biden poll: plurality of ‘Generation Z’ voters says who see more Trump political announcements than Biden MORE, which has tried to minimize the influence of Russian interference during the 2016 campaign. The nation’s intelligence agencies have determined that Moscow’s goal was to sow American discord and push Trump to victory.

At a press conference later on Friday morning, Pelosi emphasized that Russia is doing it again this election year, and asked Republicans to approve billions of dollars in emergency funds to ensure that the elections go smoothly in between. of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We know that Russia is interfering again in our elections. The intelligence community has told us that they continue the behavior of what they did in past elections, and that there may be other foreign governments that are trying to intervene,” Pelosi said.

“Therefore, we must protect the security of our electoral system, and we must give people the opportunity to vote the way they want, either in person or by mail.”

Rep. Jan SchakowskyJanice (Jan) Danoff Schakowsky Democrats introduce bill to repeal ban on financing abortions abroad Trade negotiations should not interrupt domestic debate Billion vaccine deal with Pfizer raises price concerns MORE (D-Ill.) He said Democrats had lobbied administration officials on Friday to explain the threat of interference to the public: information “that we firmly believe that the American people must be informed about the integrity of our elections.”

They said they were rejected.

“I’m more discouraged about integrity [of the elections]Schakowsky said.

Cohen, chairman of the subpanel of the Judicial Committee on the Constitution, was equally discouraged, saying there is little that Congress can do to force the administration’s hand.

“It is mainly the executive’s decision. We make laws, we do not make policies. We do not hire people, we fire people, we tell them what to put in the reports and what to do,” he said. “We are very limited in what we can do.”

Rep. Adam SchiffAdam Bennett SchiffNunes refuses to respond if he received information from Ukraine’s lawmaker meant to harm Biden Hillicon Valley: House panel interrogates tech CEOs during highly anticipated antitrust hearing | TikTok will make the code public as it rejects ‘disinformation’ | Intel Chamber panel expands access to foreign disinformation evidence Intel Chamber Committee votes to give all members access to foreign disinformation evidence MORE (D-Calif.), The head of the House Intelligence Committee, declined to comment.