But while Republicans and Democrats overwhelmingly agree that Russia is once again trying to interest the US presidential election, both sides have emerged from recent election security information at odds on what the classified intelligence says about Moscow’s intentions. The dispute reflects how both sides sparred over the Russian interference campaign in the 2016 elections, as GOP and Democratic leaders fought privately during the heat of that campaign over how much they should reveal to the public.
On Friday, intelligence community top security official William Evanina issued the clearest statement yet that the intelligence community believes Russia is working to harm Biden, while stating that China and Iran are trying to harm Trump.
“We note that Russia is using a variety of measures to denigrate Vice President Biden and what it sees as an anti-Russia establishment,” the statement said.
“Pro-Russia Ukrainian MP Andriy Derkach is spreading corruption allegations – including by leaking leaked phone calls – to undermine the candidacy of former Vice President Biden and the Democratic Party. Some Kremlin-linked actors are also trying to run for president.” on social media and Russian television, “Evanina added.
But Evanina also said China would “rather” lose Trump and is “expanding its spans of influence” ahead of the election. Nor did he say Iran was trying to “undermine US Democratic institutions, President Trump, and divide the country.”
“The intelligence services have come to very firm conclusions about what the Russians are doing and who is acting on behalf of the Russians,” he said. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN Thursday after the 2020 campaign.
“In the briefings I have received, there is no ambiguity about what the Russians’ intentions are and there is no ambiguity about what narratives they print. And there is no ambiguity about the people who.” t use them to pressure them, “he admitted.
But Republicans say the intelligence show is an attempt by Moscow to sow discord in the US election and that it is simply part of a broader band of foreign interference that is following American intelligence from other countries, including China and Iran.
“It’s pretty clear that foreign governments want to disrupt our elections. That the Iranians and Chinese do not have much love for Trump,” Republican Senate President Lindsey Graham said when asked about Russia’s intentions. “The most important thing is that they play in our backyard – and that’s the big takeaway,”
While members of both the House of Representatives and the House of Representatives have received briefings in recent days, sources tell CNN that the presidential campaigns are also aware of intelligence suggesting that Russian disinformation campaigns are specifically targeted at Biden. Trump and Biden’s campaigns both declined to comment when asked if their briefings included information about Russia targeting the former vice president.
Lawmakers on odds over Russia’s intentions
Democrats make the case that intelligence controlled by members of Congress and both campaigns add to a broader Russian interference effort intended to damage Biden’s candidacy and, in turn, help President Donald Trump.
Republicans argue, however, that there is no clear evidence that foreign actors trying to take an interest in the 2020 race would prefer one candidate over the other.
The intelligence community has meanwhile cautiously stepped away from publicly suggesting that Russia prefers one candidate over the other.
Intelligence and law enforcement officials familiar with the briefings have expressed frustration that some lawmakers have tried to politicize the information. Some Republicans appeared to restrict information related to foreign interference, while some Democrats only hung on information related to Russia at home, officials said.
Russia’s interference in the 2016 election – which the US intelligence community believes was aimed at boosting the candidacy of Trump and his opponent, Hillary Clinton – hurt – led to special advice from Robert Mueller. The prospect of interference in 2020 will further test U.S. defenses against foreign mingling, which Trump has downplayed several times because he rejected any suggestion that Kremlin influence played a role in his election.
Democrats have stopped saying whether intelligence officials have explicitly told them that Russia is working to help Biden like Trump, but some lawmakers told CNN on Thursday that information provided in recent briefings suggests foreign governments are working on specific candidates.
“My impression is … their pattern has been to look for specific candidates to help,” Sen said. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, on Thursday, citing general efforts for foreign interference.
This is in line with Russia’s broader strategy, which aims to influence voter turnout for candidates based on preference, according to Michael Chertoff, a Republican who previously served as secretary of the Homeland Security Department under President George W. Bush.
“It’s not so much that they necessarily think they’ll change your vote from one candidate to another. It’s about depressing turnout for candidates they do not like and raising turnout for candidates they do. , “Chertoff told CNN.
“But mostly it’s about creating uncertainty and suspicion and a lack of confidence in our political leadership … that’s actually a way of saying that information campaigns are a tool of conflict,” he added.
Republicans were approached when asked if they had seen evidence that Russia supports Trump.
Acting Chairman of the First Chamber, Marco Rubio would not say if he thinks Russia is working to help a specific candidate, telling CNN “its ultimate goal is to divide our country and get it to work with each other” to fight. “
Asked again if Moscow wants to help Trump, the Florida Republican said “the election landscape, the interference landscape has become incredibly complex … none of these people are Republicans or Democrats.”
“They want us to get to fight each other. There are more peoples involved now. And stay tuned,” he added.
Democrats remain pressured to release classified information
Evanina came under fire from Democratic leaders last month when he last issued a warning about efforts by Russia, China and Iran to get into the upcoming elections, as lawmakers claimed his statement “did not go far enough in “Arming the American people with the knowledge they need about how foreign powers are trying to influence our political process.”
Still, Democrats have continued to press the administration to make more information available to the American public, which intelligence officials insist they plan to do in the near future, but do not offer much guidance on a schedule.
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, told CNN on Thursday that it was vital that the administration “warn the American people about what nations are trying to interest and expel China, Russia and Iran – and what some of their tactics are such that Americans are not deceived by misinformation and disinformation programs. “
However, Warner would not say if it is clear that intelligence shows that Russia favors a specific candidate, telling CNN that he “continues to put pressure on the administration” to open up more and that he “has a lot of confidence in Bill Evanina” that the initial statement “will be the first in a series” of releases by the U.S. government.
In the meantime, intelligence officials are taking a careful line when it comes to the issue of interference in foreign elections publicly for several reasons, including concerns that certain information is being politicized and potential risks to resources and methods.
They have been particularly cautious about detailing Russia’s actions and public outcry over whether Moscow will step in again to help Trump and defeat his opponent, as was the case in the 2016 elections, in order to the intelligence community unanimously assessed in 2016.
CNN’s Evan Perez contributed to this report.
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