Democrat Leaders Say Congress A Target For Foreign Interference

Top Democratic leaders believe that Congress is being targeted by foreign disinformation campaigns. In a letter sent to the director of the FBI on July 13, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and others detailed their concerns that Congress is being targeted in order to influence policy, public discussion, and the looming presidential election.

While not disclosed in the letter, the Democrats said that the threat is “serious and specific” and called for action. In particular, the leaders requested a “classified defensive briefing” of Congress by the FBI before the August recess.

The FBI confirmed the receipt of the letter to Reuters but did not comment any further. Congressional officials speaking to the outlet anonymously explained that the letter was prompted by intelligence gathered by the U.S., but declined to give any specifics.

Notably, no Republican leaders signed off on the letter, despite potentially seeing the same intelligence reports.

“The counterintelligence experts at the FBI must provide the full Congress with a defensive counterintelligence briefing on these threats before the August recess,” another congressional official told CNN.

Gen. Paul Nakasone of the National Security Agency said Monday that the cyber-espionage capabilities of several U.S. adversaries — including Russia, China, Iran and North Korea — have increased in both capacity and capability. While the letter did not specify which foreign powers were a threat, Democrats have in the past expressed concerns over Russian interference in 2020 and the notion that President Trump might squash any efforts to oppose such interference. U.S. intelligence communities confirmed Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, a report which Trump has refused to accept.

“Our number one goal, our number one objective at the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command is a safe, secure and legitimate 2020 elections,” Nakasone said.