FBI Director Wray: Russia Works '365-Days-A-Year' To Influence U.S. Elections
- 5 years ago
FBI Director Christopher Wray commented on Russia's ongoing election influence efforts.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has said that Russia's efforts to influence U.S. elections is "a 365-days-a-year threat."
He made the comment during an on-stage conversation Friday after Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haas asked about any changes Wray detected in the Russian threat between the 2016 election and the 2018 midterms.
The FBI chief responded, in part: "Foreign influence--malign foreign influence--we usually use to describe the fairly aggressive campaign that we saw in 2016...and that has continued pretty much unabated is the use of social media, fake news, propaganda, false personas, etc., to spin us up, pit us against each other, sow divisiveness and discord, undermine American's faith in democracy."
"That is not just an election cycle threat," Wray continued. "It's pretty much a 365-days-a-year threat. And that has absolutely continued."
"We saw that, therefore, continue full speed in 2018 midterms," he added. "What we did not see in 2018 was any material impact or interference with election infrastructure or, you know, campaign infrastructure."
Wray went on to note that the challenges will continue to escalate during the next presidential election, saying, "We recognize our adversaries will keep upping their game. 2018 was just a dress rehearsal for 2020."
His comments come on the heels of special counsel Robert Mueller's report detailing Russia's efforts to sway the 2016 election.
And while federal entities including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have dedicated resources to fighting the threat, the New York Times is reporting that some officials have "complained of a lack of high-level coordination," in part, because President Trump views talk about Russian election interference as a way to undermine his presidential legitimacy.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has said that Russia's efforts to influence U.S. elections is "a 365-days-a-year threat."
He made the comment during an on-stage conversation Friday after Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haas asked about any changes Wray detected in the Russian threat between the 2016 election and the 2018 midterms.
The FBI chief responded, in part: "Foreign influence--malign foreign influence--we usually use to describe the fairly aggressive campaign that we saw in 2016...and that has continued pretty much unabated is the use of social media, fake news, propaganda, false personas, etc., to spin us up, pit us against each other, sow divisiveness and discord, undermine American's faith in democracy."
"That is not just an election cycle threat," Wray continued. "It's pretty much a 365-days-a-year threat. And that has absolutely continued."
"We saw that, therefore, continue full speed in 2018 midterms," he added. "What we did not see in 2018 was any material impact or interference with election infrastructure or, you know, campaign infrastructure."
Wray went on to note that the challenges will continue to escalate during the next presidential election, saying, "We recognize our adversaries will keep upping their game. 2018 was just a dress rehearsal for 2020."
His comments come on the heels of special counsel Robert Mueller's report detailing Russia's efforts to sway the 2016 election.
And while federal entities including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have dedicated resources to fighting the threat, the New York Times is reporting that some officials have "complained of a lack of high-level coordination," in part, because President Trump views talk about Russian election interference as a way to undermine his presidential legitimacy.