Feds say Russia and Iran have interfered with the presidential election
Updated 8:26 PM ET, Wed October 21, 2020
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said Wednesday both Iran and Russia have obtained US voter registration information in an effort to interfere in the election, including Iran posing as the far-right group Proud Boys to send intimidating emails to voters.
"This data can be used by foreign actors to attempt to communicate false information to registered voters that they hope will cause confusion, sow chaos and undermine your confidence in American democracy," Ratcliffe said.
Iranians are responsible for a voter intimidation email campaign that was made to look like it came from the Proud Boys and was also spreading disinformation about voter fraud through a video linked in some of the emails.
"We have already seen Iran sending spoof emails designed to intimidate voters, incite social unrest and damage President (Donald) Trump," Ratcliffe added. "You may have seen some reporting on this in the last 24 hours, or you may have even been one of the recipients of those emails."
Ratcliffe did not explain what he meant by his statement that the emails -- which were sent to registered voters from "[email protected]" and warned recipients to "Vote for Trump or else!" -- were intended to damage the President.
Democrats and a group of former intelligence officials have accused Ratcliffe, a former Republican congressman tapped to lead the intelligence community this year, of selectively declassifying intelligence in the run-up to the election to help Trump's campaign, and Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee criticized him after the press conference.
"DO NOT listen to Ratcliffe. Partisan hack," the committee's Twitter account said Wednesday evening.
A source in a Florida election office told CNN that during an FBI briefing Wednesday, agents told them the Proud Boy email threats about voting for Trump came from a nation state -- and they are seeing them across the country. The source said the agents told them these emails "were not the work of a Florida guy in his basement."
Click HERE to read the rest of the article.
More sources:
U.S. government concludes Iran was behind threatening emails sent to Democrats
Emails threatening Florida voters to "vote for Trump or else!" linked to overseas servers
Threatening ‘Vote for Trump or we will come after you’ emails came from Iran, U.S. intelligence says
BREAKING: FBI says IRAN is responsible for fake 'Proud Boys' emails threatening Democrat voters to vote for Trump 'in an effort to hurt the president' and says that Russia is also interfering in voter registration
Updated 8:26 PM ET, Wed October 21, 2020
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said Wednesday both Iran and Russia have obtained US voter registration information in an effort to interfere in the election, including Iran posing as the far-right group Proud Boys to send intimidating emails to voters.
"This data can be used by foreign actors to attempt to communicate false information to registered voters that they hope will cause confusion, sow chaos and undermine your confidence in American democracy," Ratcliffe said.
Iranians are responsible for a voter intimidation email campaign that was made to look like it came from the Proud Boys and was also spreading disinformation about voter fraud through a video linked in some of the emails.
"We have already seen Iran sending spoof emails designed to intimidate voters, incite social unrest and damage President (Donald) Trump," Ratcliffe added. "You may have seen some reporting on this in the last 24 hours, or you may have even been one of the recipients of those emails."
Ratcliffe did not explain what he meant by his statement that the emails -- which were sent to registered voters from "[email protected]" and warned recipients to "Vote for Trump or else!" -- were intended to damage the President.
Democrats and a group of former intelligence officials have accused Ratcliffe, a former Republican congressman tapped to lead the intelligence community this year, of selectively declassifying intelligence in the run-up to the election to help Trump's campaign, and Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee criticized him after the press conference.
"DO NOT listen to Ratcliffe. Partisan hack," the committee's Twitter account said Wednesday evening.
A source in a Florida election office told CNN that during an FBI briefing Wednesday, agents told them the Proud Boy email threats about voting for Trump came from a nation state -- and they are seeing them across the country. The source said the agents told them these emails "were not the work of a Florida guy in his basement."
Click HERE to read the rest of the article.
More sources:
U.S. government concludes Iran was behind threatening emails sent to Democrats
Emails threatening Florida voters to "vote for Trump or else!" linked to overseas servers
Threatening ‘Vote for Trump or we will come after you’ emails came from Iran, U.S. intelligence says
BREAKING: FBI says IRAN is responsible for fake 'Proud Boys' emails threatening Democrat voters to vote for Trump 'in an effort to hurt the president' and says that Russia is also interfering in voter registration
