There is no evidence that Russia 'favored' candidates in the 2020 US presidential election

Mr. William Evanina - Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center is the reporter at the briefing with Congress. Photo: Washington Post

William Evanina was among the senior intelligence officials who attended the election security briefing for members of Congress, along with National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone and FBI Director Christopher Wray. The briefing was to assess information that was reported to Congress last month that Russia was interfering in the US election to help Donald Trump win re-election. This information at the time angered President Donald Trump, who accused Democrats of trying to undermine his re-election effort.

During yesterday's session in Congress, Mr. William Evanina had to answer many questions from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff about the suspicion of Russian election interference. Mr. William Evanina affirmed that the intelligence community has no evidence that Russia is interfering in the US election in a way that benefits any candidate. However, Mr. William Evanina said that Russia "continues to take large-scale steps on social networks to divide the United States and cause public distrust in the electoral system."

According to several sources who attended the briefing, in general, US lawmakers feel uneasy about election security as the Trump administration has not shown decisive steps in dealing with foreign interference. Since December 2019, Congress has had to mandate the Senate Intelligence Committee and the House Intelligence Committee to conduct regular meetings with intelligence officials to inform them about ensuring security for the presidential election in November.