Post by the Scribe on Aug 26, 2020 20:44:14 GMT
There's No Evidence Supporting Trump's Mail Ballot Warnings, FBI Says
www.npr.org/2020/08/26/906262573/theres-no-evidence-supporting-trump-s-mail-ballot-warnings-fbi-says
August 26, 20204:00 PM ET
MILES PARKS
President Donald Trump arrives to the Rose Garden of the White House during the Republican National Convention on Tuesday.
Michael Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The FBI says it has no evidence of any coordinated fraud schemes related to voting by mail this year, undercutting repeated claims by President Trump and his camp about what they've called security problems.
That disclosure was made in an election security briefing for reporters on Wednesday by high ranking officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Normally such a statement would not be notable, since election officials and experts have long said there is no widespread fraud issue in American elections.
thehill.com/opinion/campaign/494189-lets-put-the-vote-by-mail-fraud-myth-to-rest
But Trump, supporters and aides including Attorney General William Barr have cast doubt on the security of mail ballots as it has become clear that more than half the country may use them to vote this election season in response to the coronavirus disaster.
www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/vote-by-mail-states/
Trump and Barr have said they think foreign countries could attempt to counterfeit ballots and send them in to interfere with counting and that mail voting expansions will be "ripe with fraud" and a way for Democrats to "steal the election from the Republicans."
But national security officials rejected those theories in the Wednesday briefing, saying they have not seen a coordinated fraud effort and noting how difficult such an effort would be, considering the decentralized nature of U.S. elections.
The national security officials briefed reporters on the condition they not be identified.
State and local elections officials also have affirmed the level of difficulty required with such a scheme, saying often that bad information around the use of mailed ballots is more of an issue than fraud.
www.npr.org/2020/06/22/881598655/fact-check-trump-spreads-unfounded-claims-about-voting-by-mail
www.cnet.com/news/the-threat-to-vote-by-mail-isnt-fraud-its-disinformation-and-sabotage/
When asked directly about Trump's claims around foreign countries forging or counterfeiting ballots, an FBI official said Wednesday the agency has "no information about any nation state" engaging in any effort to undermine any aspect of mail voting.
Trump, While Attacking Mail Voting, Casts Mail Ballot Again
2020 ELECTION: SECURE YOUR VOTE www.npr.org/2020/08/19/903886567/trump-while-attacking-mail-voting-casts-mail-ballot-again
Trump, While Attacking Mail Voting, Casts Mail Ballot Again
Intelligence officials did continue to warn however, that a number of foreign countries, including Russia, China, and Iran, continue to engage in overt and covert influence operations aimed at the 2020 presidential race.
www.npr.org/2020/08/07/900245813/u-s-intelligence-warns-china-opposes-trump-reelection-russia-works-against-biden
Although the mail-in ballot interference thesis isn't supported by evidence, national security officials say, the foreign governments are attempting to sow chaos among American voters; launch cyberattacks and take other actions aimed at interceding in this year's election.
www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/item/2139-statement-by-ncsc-director-william-evanina-election-threat-update-for-the-american-public
The degrees of danger posed by those actors is debated; Democrats, for example, argue that the intelligence community is abetting Trump's desire to muddy the waters by creating a false equivalence in associating lesser efforts by China and Iran with what they argue are the much more serious ones by Russia.
www.npr.org/2020/08/13/901419012/with-more-transparency-on-election-security-a-question-looms-what-dont-we-know
A former top U.S. spymaster, Sue Gordon, told NPR she would put the Russians "first on the list."
www.npr.org/2020/08/13/902345240/exclusive-after-quitting-last-year-senior-u-s-intelligence-official-now-talks
The federal officials also were set to convene a classified threat landscape briefing for election officials on Wednesday afternoon.
www.npr.org/2020/08/26/906262573/theres-no-evidence-supporting-trump-s-mail-ballot-warnings-fbi-says
August 26, 20204:00 PM ET
MILES PARKS
President Donald Trump arrives to the Rose Garden of the White House during the Republican National Convention on Tuesday.
Michael Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The FBI says it has no evidence of any coordinated fraud schemes related to voting by mail this year, undercutting repeated claims by President Trump and his camp about what they've called security problems.
That disclosure was made in an election security briefing for reporters on Wednesday by high ranking officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Normally such a statement would not be notable, since election officials and experts have long said there is no widespread fraud issue in American elections.
thehill.com/opinion/campaign/494189-lets-put-the-vote-by-mail-fraud-myth-to-rest
But Trump, supporters and aides including Attorney General William Barr have cast doubt on the security of mail ballots as it has become clear that more than half the country may use them to vote this election season in response to the coronavirus disaster.
www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/vote-by-mail-states/
Louis DeJoy Vows Post Office Can Handle Mail-In Ballots, In Senate Hearing
POLITICS www.npr.org/2020/08/21/904366258/postmaster-general-faces-senate-as-controversy-persists-over-usps-cuts
Louis DeJoy Vows Post Office Can Handle Mail-In Ballots, In Senate Hearing
POLITICS www.npr.org/2020/08/21/904366258/postmaster-general-faces-senate-as-controversy-persists-over-usps-cuts
Louis DeJoy Vows Post Office Can Handle Mail-In Ballots, In Senate Hearing
Trump and Barr have said they think foreign countries could attempt to counterfeit ballots and send them in to interfere with counting and that mail voting expansions will be "ripe with fraud" and a way for Democrats to "steal the election from the Republicans."
But national security officials rejected those theories in the Wednesday briefing, saying they have not seen a coordinated fraud effort and noting how difficult such an effort would be, considering the decentralized nature of U.S. elections.
The national security officials briefed reporters on the condition they not be identified.
State and local elections officials also have affirmed the level of difficulty required with such a scheme, saying often that bad information around the use of mailed ballots is more of an issue than fraud.
www.npr.org/2020/06/22/881598655/fact-check-trump-spreads-unfounded-claims-about-voting-by-mail
www.cnet.com/news/the-threat-to-vote-by-mail-isnt-fraud-its-disinformation-and-sabotage/
When asked directly about Trump's claims around foreign countries forging or counterfeiting ballots, an FBI official said Wednesday the agency has "no information about any nation state" engaging in any effort to undermine any aspect of mail voting.
Trump, While Attacking Mail Voting, Casts Mail Ballot Again
2020 ELECTION: SECURE YOUR VOTE www.npr.org/2020/08/19/903886567/trump-while-attacking-mail-voting-casts-mail-ballot-again
Trump, While Attacking Mail Voting, Casts Mail Ballot Again
Intelligence officials did continue to warn however, that a number of foreign countries, including Russia, China, and Iran, continue to engage in overt and covert influence operations aimed at the 2020 presidential race.
www.npr.org/2020/08/07/900245813/u-s-intelligence-warns-china-opposes-trump-reelection-russia-works-against-biden
Although the mail-in ballot interference thesis isn't supported by evidence, national security officials say, the foreign governments are attempting to sow chaos among American voters; launch cyberattacks and take other actions aimed at interceding in this year's election.
www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/item/2139-statement-by-ncsc-director-william-evanina-election-threat-update-for-the-american-public
The degrees of danger posed by those actors is debated; Democrats, for example, argue that the intelligence community is abetting Trump's desire to muddy the waters by creating a false equivalence in associating lesser efforts by China and Iran with what they argue are the much more serious ones by Russia.
www.npr.org/2020/08/13/901419012/with-more-transparency-on-election-security-a-question-looms-what-dont-we-know
A former top U.S. spymaster, Sue Gordon, told NPR she would put the Russians "first on the list."
www.npr.org/2020/08/13/902345240/exclusive-after-quitting-last-year-senior-u-s-intelligence-official-now-talks
The Most Important Mail You'll Ever Send: A Ballot
LIFE KIT www.npr.org/2020/08/07/900210406/the-most-important-mail-youll-ever-send-a-ballot
The Most Important Mail You'll Ever Send: A Ballot
LIFE KIT www.npr.org/2020/08/07/900210406/the-most-important-mail-youll-ever-send-a-ballot
The Most Important Mail You'll Ever Send: A Ballot
The federal officials also were set to convene a classified threat landscape briefing for election officials on Wednesday afternoon.