US officials warn of foreign attempts to influence midterm elections
US intelligence and law enforcement agencies have warned that foreign governments continue to try to influence US elections, including the upcoming midterm congressional elections in November.
“Adversaries continue to target US elections to divide voters along political lines and to influence key policy decisions,” the US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats warned Friday in a joint statement with the FBI and US Justice Department.
The interference can take many forms, including English-language Russian news outlets such as RT and Sputnik that disseminate foreign propaganda, according to the statement.
“We are concerned about ongoing campaigns by Russia, China and other foreign actors, including Iran, to undermine confidence in democratic institutions and influence public sentiment and government policies,” said the warning.
“These activities also may seek to influence voter perceptions and decision making in the 2018 and 2020 US elections.”
However, US government agencies have no evidence of a compromise or disruption of election equipment yet.
A female Russian national was charged Friday in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, with allegedly trying to interfere with the midterm elections on November 6, US authorities said.
Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova, 44, of St. Petersburg, Russia, was charged with playing a central role in Project Lakhta, which had an operating budget of $10 million from January through June, to provide "information warfare against the United States," according to the indictment.
The complaint said, however, it did not find any evidence to show that Khusyaynova or anyone else involved in the alleged conspiracy had any effect on the outcome of any US election.
US Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been running a high-profile investigation into allegations that US President Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton because Moscow had rigged the election in his favor.
US intelligence agencies claim Russia-linked hackers provided WikiLeaks with damaging information -- in the form of thousands of hacked emails -- about Clinton to skew the election in favor of Trump.
Trump has repeatedly denied allegations that his campaign colluded with Russians and has condemned the investigations. Russian President Putin has also denied the allegations.
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