Susan Rice says she is ‘100 percent’ sure Russia will interfere in elections

Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice said on Thursday that she was “100 percent convinced” that Russian opponents would try to win the US election this year.

‘I almost never say this, but [I am] 100 percent convinced that Russia is doing a lot of what it did in 2016 and certainly more, “Rice, who was also previously the US ambassador to the United Nations, said during a virtual event hosted by The Washington Post.

Rice pointed to recent statements by a top official in the office of the director of national intelligence that recognized efforts by Russia, China and Iran to take an interest in the US elections this year, with Russia’s efforts to advance President TrumpDonald John TrumpThe Memo: Obama goes into battle, impoverishes Trump Harris’ duty to fight for the country’s ideals in accepting VP nomination. Pelosi paints Trump and McConnell as twin barriers to more progress, and the efforts of China and Iran aimed at defeating Trump.

Rice stressed that Russia’s interference activities were “on a completely different scale” than the efforts of China and Iran, and described a previous national intelligence statement regarding road safety concerns as “muddled” and trying to “conflict what China and Iran might be doing” with Russian interference efforts.

“We must not only worry about Russian disinformation – its constant activity on social media, focused on deception and divisions and bringing fear and hatred between and among Americans, but we must also worry about what efforts it may take. create to infiltrate our voting systems, and damage our voting roles or even the voting itself, ”Rice said.

“That is very difficult to do, and hopefully in the intervening years more steps have been taken to tighten up our system. I believe in many cases that is the case, but I also think that the Russians will not stop trying,” “Rice added.

According to the U.S. intelligence community, the report was compiled by a former special counselor Robert MuellerToobin by Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN warns McCabe is in ‘dangerous condition’ with embedded Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone calling Clinton-Lynch asphalt meeting The Hill’s 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE and the House of Representatives Committee, Russian agents engaged in a sweeping and sophisticated effort to intervene in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

These efforts included a disinformation campaign on social media platforms, targeting voting infrastructure in all 50 states, and hacking into the systems of the Democratic National Committee.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has a declassified version of its fifth and final report on Russian interference efforts earlier this week, detailing key ties between Russian intelligence officials and top 2016 Trump officials of the presidential campaign.

Rice described the report as “remarkable” and praised the bilingual report because he was more detailed about contacts between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign than the Mueller report was.

Travel on Thursday also pointed to new concerns about electoral integrity over Russian interference, and pointed to concerns about a ongoing research by Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Ron JohnsonRonald (Ron) Harold JohnsonPostmaster-General must testify before Senate panel on Friday Staffing, the wealth gap, and the current crisis Widows: FBI does not share information related to the probe GOP Obama era with Democrats MORE (R-Wis.) In the Obama administration and the Bidens as part of an effort to spread disinformation.

“It’s not just the Russians, it’s not just the Trump campaign and those involved in it, it’s also at least a handful of Republicans in the Senate who seem ready to assassinate themselves with Russian propaganda to get Donald Trump back. to benefit in this election, ”Rice said.

Sen. Chris CoonsChristopher (Chris) Andrew CoonsOvernight Defense: Trump announces ‘snapback’ of sanctions on Iran | Uniform staff at Dem Convention under investigation | Netanyahu calls reported F-35 deal ‘fake news’ Andy Cohen to host Democratic convention after party with celebrities Democrats nominate Biden officially for president MORE (Del.), The chief Democrat on the panel of the House of Commons committee with jurisdiction over federal election funds, said during a separate virtual interview hosted by The Washington Post that he was also concerned about foreign interference in elections this year , noting that “there are a lot of warnings that Russia is targeting and trying to disrupt our elections this fall.”

“I am concerned about the security and sanctity of our elections this fall, one we must safely conduct in the midst of a pandemic,” Coons said.

Other top officials have also raised concerns about foreign interference in elections in recent months. Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoOvernight Defense: Trump announces ‘snapback’ of sanctions on Iran | Uniform staff at Dem Convention under investigation | Netanyahu calls reported F-35 deal ‘false news’ Trump announces ‘snapback’ of sanctions on Iran Major power competition and global supply chains MORE said in July that he “is confident that many countries will do their best to influence our election.”