2/13/2018
Three of the nation’s top intelligence officials said Tuesday that the U.S. has seen Russian activity aimed at meddling in the upcoming midterm elections.
“We have seen Russian activity and intentions to have an impact on the next election cycle,” CIA Director Mike Pompeo told the Senate intelligence committee.
National Intelligence Director Dan Coats and Adm. Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency, agreed. They didn’t describe the activity, other than to say it was related to information warfare. “There should be no doubt that Russia perceives that its past efforts have been successful and views the 2018 midterm US elections as a potential target for Russian influence operations,” said Coats. “Frankly, the United States is under attack.”
Coats continued “We expect Russia to continue using propaganda, social media, false flag personas, sympathetic spokesmen, and other means to influence and try to build on its wide range of operations and exacerbate social and political fissures in the United States.”
“In the next year, Russian intelligence and security services will continue to probe U.S. and allied critical infrastructures, as well as target the United States, NATO, and allies for insights into U.S. policy,” the report said. “The 2018 U.S. midterm elections are a potential target for Russian influence operations.”
“Russians stepped up their game with cyber, in particular, in 2016,” Coats said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. His expectation: Russian interference in the midterm or in state elections. “We think it’s very likely because we don’t see a let up in efforts to do this,” Coats told the AP.
Tuesday’s report predicted Russian intelligence agencies will disseminate more false information over Russian state-controlled media and through fake online personas to spread anti-American views and exacerbate social and political divides in the United States.
CIA Director Mike Pompeo also has said he expects Russia will insert itself in the November midterms, in which Republicans and Democrats will vie for control of the House and Senate. “We will push back in a way that is sufficiently robust that the impact they have on our election won’t be great,” Pompeo recently told the BBC.
When asked by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) if Trump directed any of the intelligence heads present at the hearing to stop Russia from meddling, FBI Director Christopher Wray stated “not specifically directed by the president.”
