Election Sources: What the US Intelligence Agency's Allegations of Foreign "Interference" in the Elections Can Lead to

Foreign states may launch a disinformation campaign regarding the results of the 2020 US presidential election.

American voters were warned of this in a joint statement by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

“Foreign actors and cybercriminals can create new and modify existing websites, as well as create and distribute relevant materials on social networks to spread false information in order to discredit the electoral process and undermine the credibility of American democratic institutions,” the intelligence agency said in a statement.

As specified in the statement, it takes time to confirm the final results of the vote, especially if such a channel as mail is actively used for expression of will.

The FBI warns that postal voting will be more widespread than usual this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• FBI headquarters

• Reuters

• © Yuri Gripas

The FBI and CISA urge American citizens to critically assess and select reliable sources of information, such as election officials.

Special services should be especially careful to check information about voting problems before sharing such information on social networks.

Citizens are also encouraged to resort to social media tools designed to tag questionable publications.

A similar warning was issued in early August by the director of the National Center for Counterintelligence and Security, William Evanina.

“In the run-up to the 2020 US elections, foreign governments will continue to use covert and overt leverage to influence the preferences and views of the American electorate, bring about a change in American policy, exacerbate divisions in the US, and undermine American confidence in our democratic processes.” he stated.

William Evanina also named countries that, in the opinion of American intelligence services, can make such attempts.

The National Center for Counterintelligence and Security believes that Beijing is "rooting" for Joe Biden, the same position is taken by Tehran, so Iranian and Chinese activity can be aimed at supporting this candidate.

At the same time, Moscow is allegedly interested in Trump's victory and therefore is trying to denigrate his opponent Biden.

The recrimination policy

Let us remind you that the US presidential elections are to be held on November 3.

The election race is taking place against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, which has already claimed over 200 thousand lives in the United States.

The number of infections with a dangerous virus in the country is approaching 7 million.

At the same time, the politicians participating in the pre-election race are further inflating tensions in society with mutual accusations that go beyond the usual political polemics, experts say.

So, four years ago, the Democrats accused the 45th US President Donald Trump of ties with Russia, which allegedly interfered in the electoral process in his interests.

An investigation into these "connections" began in 2017 under the leadership of Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller and lasted two years.

As a result, investigators sent a conclusion to Congress that there were no signs of links between Trump's campaign headquarters and Moscow.

At the same time, the document said that Russia allegedly still "interfered" in the course of the US presidential elections.

• US Post

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• © Rebecca Cook

Trump has repeatedly accused his political opponents, who initiated the investigation, of being guided by purely political motives.

As the head of the White House said in August 2018, Mueller's team and the Democratic Party are trying to influence the midterm elections in the United States.

At the same time, they "refuse to reveal really (which took place. -

) corrupt actions on the side of the Democrats," Trump wrote on Twitter then.

Subsequently, Republican Senator Rand Paul accused former CIA chief John Brennan, former National Intelligence Director James Klepper and retired FBI chief James Comey of using this false dossier to remove Trump from his post.

The politician said this in an interview with Fox News. 

Now, however, the candidates for the presidency of the United States are exchanging equally harsh accusations.

So, earlier, the candidate from the Democratic Party, Joe Biden, said that the cancellation of the election security briefings for the congress by intelligence is connected with the desire to hide Russia's participation in the possible re-election of Trump.

According to Biden, the order of the Director of US National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to curtail the briefings is "shameless and biased manipulation, the purpose of which is to protect the personal interests of President Trump." 

In addition, Joe Biden said that Trump could refuse to recognize the results of the November elections, and then he would have to be expelled from the White House by force.

“I am absolutely convinced that (if the Democratic candidate wins. -

) the military will promptly remove him (Trump. -

) from the White House ... My biggest concern is that the president will try to steal this election.

We're talking about a man who called the mail-vote a scam, ”Biden told The Daily Show.

The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, General Mark Milli, even had to send a letter to Congress, in which he said that the army did not intend to participate in resolving disputes over the election results.

For his part, Trump has repeatedly announced in recent years about possible fraudulent voting by mail, which Democrats are actively promoting amid the pandemic.

“IT IS EXCLUDED (ZERO PROBABILITY!) That voting by mail will turn out to be something other than serious falsification.

The contents of mailboxes will be stolen, newsletters - forged and even illegally printed and fraudulently signed.

The Governor of California sends bulletins to millions of people, to anyone, ”the head of the White House wrote earlier on Twitter. 

There is NO WAY (ZERO!) That Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent.

Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed.

The Governor of California is sending Ballots to millions of people, anyone .....

- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2020

This statement by the politician was flagged by the social network as an "unfounded" statement and was accompanied by a special refuting text.

Internal stress

According to experts, the call by the secret services to use the tools offered by social networks to label dubious publications borders on a call for the introduction of real censorship.

This point of view, in an interview with RT, was expressed by a corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences, Americanist Sergei Sudakov.

“As a result of such a policy, a situation arises when someone’s disagreeable opinion can be labeled as false information,” the expert noted.

Pavel Feldman, Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of RUDN University, shares a similar point of view.

• Donald Trump

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• © Tom Brenner

“In fact, it looks like political censorship, because under this pretext the opinions of ordinary Internet users and even experts can be blocked.

It turns out that only official information is recognized as reliable, and this can really lead to censorship, "the expert explained in a commentary on RT.

According to experts, the statements of the special services about possible interference in the elections can also be used by candidates as an argument to initiate unrest after the November vote.

“Whoever wins the elections, it is already clear that the United States will face new street unrest, the political situation in the country is too tense,” added Sudakov.

Pavel Feldman adheres to a similar point of view.

“Precisely because both candidates are clearly ready to challenge the voting results, tensions are growing in the United States.

If Trump is the loser, he will most likely try to challenge the outcome in the Supreme Court.

And if he turns out to be the winner, then Biden can bring his supporters to the streets.

And the topic of interference can be used here as one of the arguments for disagreeing with the voting results, "the expert summed up.