The US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced on Wednesday that Iran and Russia were stepping up their efforts to influence the upcoming presidential election and that they had already obtained American voter registration data.
John Ratcliffe, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), along with FBI Director Chris Wray, said in a late evening briefing from the agency’s headquarters that the foreign actors were using the data collected “to communicate false information to registered voters” and that such tactics were designed to “cause confusion, sow chaos and undermine your confidence in American democracy.” The voter information obtained by Tehran and Moscow was most likely public, since voters’ names, party registrations and some contact information are publicly available. The officials also claimed that Iran had taken specific steps “to damage” President Trump, stating that the country was responsible for sending threatening, fake emails posing at the far-right group Proud Boys to intimidate people into voting for Trump.
The revelation, though concerning, was criticized by Democrats as just another attempt by Ratcliffe, a former Republican congressman, of selectively declassifying intelligence ahead of the November vote, in order to help Trump’s campaign. Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee criticized Ratcliffe after the press conference, especially for his remarks regarding election interference operations being directed against the President. The timing of the briefing – on the eve of the final presidential debate and less than two weeks before Election Day – could also be seen as a last-minute effort by Trump’s aides to double down on the message he has propagated (without evidence) for weeks now, that the election will be rigged, and that the only way he will lose is if his opponents “steal” the vote.
However, the White House remained defiant, and said that the announcement was a prime example of Trump putting “America first”. “He [Trump] has directed the FBI, DOJ, and defense and intel agencies to proactively monitor and thwart any attempts to interfere in US elections, and because of the great work of our law enforcement agencies we have stopped an attempt by America's adversaries to undermine our elections,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said.
Iran, on the other hand, rejected the accusations and said that it was in fact Trump who sought to undermine Americans’ faith in democracy and election integrity. “Unlike the US., Iran does not interfere in other country’s elections. The world has been witnessing US’ own desperate public attempts to question the outcome of its own election at the highest level,” Alireza Miryousefi, the press officer for Iran’s mission to the UN, wrote on Twitter.
FBI Warns of Election Interference by Iran and Russia
Officials said that the foreign actors had already obtained American voter registration data.
October 23, 2020
