Specifically, a senior intelligence official has slashed the possibility of foreign actors producing fake ballot boxes en masse to intervene in the November election, again breaking with Trump who has continued to insist that submitting votes poses a major threat for election safety.
“We have no information or intelligence that any actor in the nation-state threat is engaged in activities … to undermine any part of the consensus or ballot papers,” the official reporters said.
Senior officials, however, refused to discuss Russia’s attempt to sow the president’s attempt to sow distrust and doubt about the post in the voting process.
While the intelligence community and other relevant agencies have been working together in recent weeks to release information on security threats, they have been reluctant to address questions about the president’s actions or whether Russia specifically tailors his messages based on Trump’s remarks. ,
However, the remarks of senior U.S. intelligence officials on Wednesday highlight just how isolated Trump is with his rhetoric about election safety and misconduct. His conspiratorial allegations of widespread fraud and “rigged elections” have now been dismissed by top U.S. officials from his own administration, government officials from both parties, and non-partisan experts.
It is also the latest example of how Trump is regularly out of step with the views of the American intelligence community on issues of national importance, including Russian interference in the 2016 elections and the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump campaign officials and the White House have repeatedly refused to comment on why the president continues to promote lies related to mail-in-votes, although told by election campaign officials that there are no intelligence or information is available to back up his claims.
In an email to CNN hours after the briefing, Trump campaign spokeswoman Thea McDonald declined to address why the president’s theories on voting were publicly rejected by top U.S. intelligence officials. She instead offered an ominous and misleading warning about potential election shenanigans by Democrats.
“The intelligence community is right to keep a close eye on this issue as Democrats try to flood the zone with tens of millions of unsolicited ballot papers that will undoubtedly throw our electoral system into chaos,” McDonald said, refusing that unsolicited absentee ballots have been sent in only nine states and ballots go only to registered voters.
No evidence of coordinated national electoral fraud
A senior FBI official also said Wednesday that they have not seen any evidence of coordinated national election fraud related to post-it notes and the bureau has ruled that even if there is fraud, it will not tip the scale of election results. Trump has repeatedly promoted the baseless lie that there is mass voter fraud in the U.S. election.
The FBI is “fully aware” of the expectation that there will be an increase in ballot papers due to the coronavirus pandemic – circumstances that have created a new environment with this election cycle, the senior official said.
“We have so far seen no coordinated national voter turnout during a major election and it would be extremely difficult to change a federal election outcome using this type of model alone, given the range of processes that we need to be influenced or compromised by. opponent at the local level, “they added. The official also said the FBI is ready to tackle any possible election fraud that may occur.
Senior officials also reiterated on Wednesday that they are worried about malicious actors who want to exploit any uncertainty about the election result and the expected lack of an immediate winner on November 3, a time period that Chris Krebs, arguably the most visible federal election official, previously said is “absolutely ripe for a destructive or disruptive attack by a capable opponent.”
“The reality is that it is no longer about election day,” said one senior official, echoing Krebs’ warning about the days, and possibly weeks, it could take counting all the ballots.
Many election officials, including California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, have said the president may be among the actors trying to fill the vacuum the day after the election with misleading information.
“You can imagine what a certain person would do in that era in terms of spitting, lies and conspiracy theories about what’s going on,” Padilla told CNN earlier.
No plan to address Trump’s false claims?
Padilla said much of the appeal he and others have to keep the president in check depends on Facebook and the other social media companies responding to their requests that messages be taken down. Amid fierce criticism for spreading disinformation rampantly, they have recently tried to show that they are getting into trouble.
However, several state election officials told CNN that there has been no specific guidance from CISA or the FBI on what to do if the president or other government officials make allegations about their states that are not true.
“We need a national response if the president shares propaganda, we have not seen it yet,” Padilla said last week in an interview with CNN. “That the clock is ticking.”
Padilla, a Democrat, said California officials follow the same protocol to address false claims by the president because they would suspect disinformation from Russia or another foreign actor.
On Wednesday, officials raised questions about whether there are concerns that foreign actors are exaggerating Trump’s false statements in connection with the election process and offer some insight into whether there is a plan to address those claims if they come from U.S. officials. . , including the president.
“We will continue to disseminate intelligence gathering to those who need it, including policymakers, to make the best decisions and judgments that anyone can make,” said the senior intelligence official.
CNN previously reported that the federal agencies accused of protecting the November election do not have the power or ability to deal with disinformation when it comes to the White House or the president himself. These agencies include the FBI, Homeland Security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
“It puts the agencies in an impossible position because it is their own boss and how will they oppose the main board of our government?” said Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff of the Homeland Security department to former secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who recently became one of the top officials of the Trump administration to distinguish Joe Biden.
“Over the past four years, much has been done to advance the United States on the possibility of disinformation and foreign interference in elections,” Taylor added. “But none of that can prepare us for when the president can be the one who reinforces foreign government disinformation.”
This story has been updated with comments from the Trump campaign.
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