FBI warns of foreign interference in US polls

LOS ANGELES – The United States government has warned that foreign interference and cyber attacks might influence the results of its Nov. 6 mid-term polls.

According to a senior intelligence official, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is “concerned” about “interference campaigns” of Russia, China and Iran to “undermine confidence in democratic institutions and influence public sentiments and government policies.”

The official said “these activities also may influence voter perceptions and decision-making in the 2018 and 2020 US elections.” 

“Foreign interference in US elections is a threat to our democracy. And, as such, identifying and preventing this interference is a top priority for the FBI and federal government,” stated a transcript provided to over 24 foreign journalists participating in the Foreign Press Center’s International Reporting Tour: US Mid-term Elections in California and Nevada.

The official noted these activities can take many forms, including “using social media to amplify divisive issues, sponsoring specific content in English language media, seeding disinformation through sympathetic spokespersons regarding political candidates and disseminating foreign propaganda.”

The officials added adversaries target the US elections “to divide America along political lines and influence key policy decisions that are in their national interest.”

This was echoed by a senior administration official who also claimed “foreign malign influence is trying to sway people’s opinion or the way people might vote.”

“This is something that has happened since the dawn of the republic.  Foreign nations have always tried to influence the way that the United States will act through a variety of means. And we see those means evolve over the years,” the official added.

To prove his point that foreign meddling would never be tolerated, President Donald Trump signed an executive order early this year stipulating course of action in the event of election interference. 

The official maintained the order would make sure that “we bring to bear all capabilities of the federal government to react – number one, warn off our foreign adversaries; and number two, react swiftly and strongly in the case that we do see that level of interference.”

The official also said the intelligence and law enforcement community is prepared to deal with all forms of threats to the electoral process.

“As the threat environment has matured over the past few years, we’ve also had to mature the capabilities, processes and authorities that we bring to bear as a federal government to support elections as they occur and even after they occur,” the official said. 

The official revealed another concern is interference involving cyber attack on the election system.

“Influence would be actions taken against the electoral system and processes – that infrastructure necessary to register voters, to generate ballots, to record votes, to tally them and to certify them and deliver them to the actual body that would be elected or that a ballot measure would be certified as winning or losing,” the official added.

“The good news is, election officials – our natural risk managers – have built-in contingency plans, all with the goal of maintaining confidence and maintaining the integrity of the process,” the official pointed out.