Midterm meddling: Here’s how the US is keeping its election system safe from Russian interference
The U.S. government is taking active strides to protect its election system ahead of the November midterms, Homeland Security Committee member Peter King said Sunday.
“There’s been almost $400 million given to the states so that they can improve their computer systems,” King told Maria Bartiromo during an interview on “Sunday Morning Futures.” “There’s also really a great move by the Department of Homeland Security, sharing information with the states’ boards of elections … if any information at all is there of … any indication of meddling, the government can react to it.”
The push for stronger defense in the upcoming midterms stems from Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. Before leaving office, President Barack Obama ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to investigate whether Moscow was involved in hacking to affect elections dating back to 2008.
The National Security Agency, FBI and CIA said in a report that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed a campaign to influence the outcome of the election and that the country’s goals were to “undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary [Hillary] Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency.” The report also said Putin and the Russian government wanted to “help President-elect Trump’s election chances.”
King, a Republican from New York who also serves as chair of the Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee, said that while there’s “no doubt” Russia will attempt to interfere with the midterm elections, the U.S. must convince Moscow that there will be consequences for any meddling.
“If they know there’s going to be a massive retaliation, that’s the best way to keep them from doing it,” King said, criticizing Obama for not taking a tough enough stance against Russia. “There has to be a strong deterrent, and we have the capacity to carry out a deterrent.”