National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) Director William Evanina warned on Friday that the Russian government is actively working on helping Donald Trump get reelected in November.
“We assess that Russia is using a range of measures to primarily denigrate former Vice President Biden and what it sees as an anti-Russia ‘establishment.’ This is consistent with Moscow’s public criticism of him when he was Vice President for his role in the Obama Administration’s policies on Ukraine and its support for the anti-Putin opposition inside Russia,” Evanina stated.
“For example, pro-Russia Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach is spreading claims about corruption – including through publicizing leaked phone calls – to undermine former Vice President Biden’s candidacy and the Democratic Party. Some Kremlin-linked actors are also seeking to boost President Trump’s candidacy on social media and Russian television.”
Evanina also notes that China and Iran do prefer Biden to win, which explains why Trump has been attacking those two countries lately while refusing to challenge Russia.
“We assess that China prefers that President Trump – whom Beijing sees as unpredictable – does not win reelection. China has been expanding its influence efforts ahead of November 2020 to shape the policy environment in the United States, pressure political figures it views as opposed to China’s interests, and deflect and counter criticism of China.”
“We assess that Iran seeks to undermine U.S. democratic institutions, President Trump, and to divide the country in advance of the 2020 elections.”
U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) says Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and other top Democrats, have been urging Evanina to release this information to the public.
Evanina warns that even if the information was released to the public, Trump is unlikely to act on it.
Huge news from ODNI – not the least because Giuliani has worked to amplify Derkach's criticisms of Biden; the IC now says those criticisms are part of a Russian effort to damage Biden's candidacy pic.twitter.com/N16eq9EQQl
— Betsy Woodruff Swan (@woodruffbets) August 7, 2020
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