US warns Russia to continue interfering in elections
A new US Senate report warns of the risk of Russian interference in this year's midterm elections and the 2020 presidential election, and details Moscow's efforts to influence elections across Europe.
Democratic member Patrick Leahy speaks about Russian-created Facebook pages during a Senate hearing. Photo: Guardian
The report, released by Senator Ben Cardin of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, argues that the United States will not be able to withstand Russian interference in upcoming elections without immediate action. According to the report, Moscow will act more aggressively.
"President Donald Trump has been indifferent in acknowledging and responding to the Russian threat to US national security," the report said.
Senator Cardin also took aim at Mr. Trump, declaring, "If you are ambiguous, you are not consistent and you do not have a strategy to protect the country … That is a concession to national security."
The report urges President Trump to quickly create a high-level group to develop a policy response to Russia's actions and present it to Congress, and urges new sanctions against countries that destabilize other countries. It also calls on social media companies like Facebook to be more accountable for their actions "undermining democracy."
US lawmakers also said Washington needs to help European allies reduce the region's dependence on energy supplies from Russia.
The report details how Russia has increased the scale and sophistication of its efforts to influence votes in Britain, Germany, France and smaller countries like Ukraine.
The report details military invasion plans, disinformation campaigns, bribery, and the use of tools such as weaponizing energy supplies.
