Exclusive: The Biden administration will charge Russia with persistent attempts to sway the 2024 election
Six people with knowledge of the situation told CNN that the Biden administration intends to charge Russia on Wednesday with making a concerted attempt to sway the US presidential election of 2024 by disseminating false material to US citizens through Kremlin-run media and other internet platforms.
According to the sources, a number of measures by the US are anticipated on Wednesday to counter the Kremlin's efforts, including a public denunciation of the activities by the White House and the announcement of law enforcement action by the Justice Department against the covert Russian operation.
According to the sources, RT—the Russian official media network—is a key target of the US statement. The Russian publication is seen by US authorities as a crucial component of Kremlin propaganda.
Four of the sources said that both American and non-American voices are being used to finance the Russian misinformation campaign.
When combined, the measures would represent the Biden administration's most public reaction to date to reported Russian influence operations directed at American voters. According to the sources, Wednesday's anticipated moves serve as a reminder that US authorities still view Russia as a significant foreign influence danger to November's election, following their accusation last month that Iran attempted to hack both the Trump and Biden-Harris campaigns.
Senior law enforcement officials, including FBI Director Christopher Wray, will be present at a meeting of the Justice Department's Election Threats Task Force hosted by Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday afternoon.
The Social Design Agency, which the Treasury Department has already sanctioned for allegedly operating fake news websites in Europe on behalf of the Russian government, is another Russian business that US officials are anticipated to identify on Wednesday, according to three of the individuals.
RT, formerly known as Russia Today, is a global provider of television and internet content that furthers the goals of the Kremlin. After US intelligence agencies assessed that RT America had assisted Russian efforts to intervene in the 2016 election, the Justice Department ordered the media channel to register as a foreign agent in 2017.
The anticipated disclosures on Wednesday would mark the Biden administration's second significant attempt in as many months to lessen RT's impact. An RT staff member was charged by the Justice Department in July with participating in a plot to disseminate false material on the conflict in Ukraine and other subjects by using a network of around 1,000 social media profiles that were created to seem like US citizens. A spokesman for the Kremlin refuted US authorities' accusations that the Kremlin was sponsoring the plot.
When contacted for reaction, an RT representative sent sarcastic emails that included the phrase "2016 called and it wants its clichés back," but did not address the specifics of the accusations.
CNN was unable to get in touch with Social Design Agency for comment right away.
Since Russia's 2016 actions, which included hacking the Democratic National Committee and publishing information meant to undermine Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, an increasing number of foreign agents have tried to meddle in US elections.
US authorities are extremely vigilant in the 2024 election because to Iran's reported adoption of a similar hack-and-leak strategy to that employed by Russia in 2016. A group of hackers with ties to the Iranian government successfully targeted the Trump campaign in June, took internal campaign papers, and released them to media outlets. According to CNN, the hackers targeted campaign officials by breaking into longtime Trump associate Roger Stone's email account.
However, Chinese officials and private specialists claim that China employs a wide range of internet identities to target US voters, thus US officials are also closely monitoring China. When the two men met in November of last year, Chinese leader Xi Jinping assured US President Joe Biden that China would not meddle in the US presidential election of 2024, CNN earlier reported.
However, the fact that the voting process is very secure and resistant to manipulation is unaffected by attempts, whether foreign or local, to cause conflict and sway voters' beliefs during the US election. There is no proof that attempts to sway an American election by voting tallies, whether domestic or foreign, have been effective.
According to Jen Easterly, head of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, 97% of registered voters in the US election of 2024 would cast their ballot in a jurisdiction with a verifiable paper record, increasing voting transparency. She made this announcement to reporters this week.
Easterly declared, "There has never been more security in election infrastructure."
