In the months before Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was forced to Resign, she tried to Focus the White House on one of her Highest Priorities, Preparing for New and Different Russian Forms of Interference in the 2020 Election. President Trump’s Chief of Staff told her Not to bring it up in Front of the President.
Officials said she had become Increasingly Concerned about Russia’s continued Activity in the U.S. during and after the 2018 Midterm Elections, ranging from its Search for New Techniques to Divide Americans using Social Media, to Experiments by Hackers, to Rerouting Internet Traffic and Infiltrating Power Grids.
But in a Meeting this year, Mick Mulvaney, the White House Chief of Staff, made it clear that Trump still Equated any Public Discussion of Malign Russian Election Activity with Questions about the Legitimacy of his Victory. According to One Senior Administration Official, Mulvaney said it “wasn’t a great subject and should be kept below his level.”
Even though the DHS has Primary Responsibility for Civilian Cyber-Defense, Ms. Nielsen eventually gave up on her Effort to Organize a White House Meeting of Cabinet Secretaries to Coordinate a Strategy to Protect Next Year’s Elections. As a result, the Issue did Not Gain the Urgency or Widespread Attention that a President can Command. And it meant that many Americans remain Unaware of the Latest Versions of Russian Interference.
While American Intelligence Agencies have Warned of the Dangers of New Influence Campaigns Penetrating the 2020 Elections, Trump and those Closest to Him have Maintained that the Effects of Russia’s Interference in 2016 was Overblown.
“You look at what Russia did — you know, buying some Facebook ads to try to sow dissent and do it — and it’s a terrible thing,” Jared Kushner, the President’s Son-in-Law and Senior Adviser, said on Tuesday during an Interview at the Time 100 Summit in New York. “But I think the investigations, and all of the speculation that’s happened for the last two years, has had a much harsher impact on our democracy than a couple of Facebook ads,” he said.
Before she Resigned under Pressure on April 7th, Ms. Nielsen and other Officials looked for other ways to Raise the Alarm. The Opening Page of the Worldwide Threat Assessment, a Public Document Compiled by Government Intelligence Agencies that was Delivered to Congress in late January 2019, Warned that:
“The threat landscape could look very different in 2020 and future elections. Russia’s social media efforts will continue to focus on aggravating social and racial tensions, undermining trust in authorities and criticizing perceived anti-Russia politicians. Moscow may employ additional influence tool kits — such as spreading disinformation, conducting hack-and-leak operations or manipulating data — in a more targeted fashion to influence U.S. policy, actions and elections.”
By comparison, Cyberthreats have taken a Back Seat among Security Priorities at the White House. Trump’s National Security Adviser, John R. Bolton, Eliminated the Position of Cybersecurity Coordinator at the White House last year, leaving Junior Aides to deal with the Issue. In January, Ms. Nielsen fumed when 45% of her Cyber-Defense Work Force was Furloughed during the Government Shutdown.
Ms. Nielsen grew so Frustrated with White House Reluctance to Convene Top-Level Officials to come up with a Governmentwide Strategy that she twice pulled together her Own Meetings of Cabinet Secretaries and Agency Heads. They included Top Justice Department, FBI, and Intelligence Officials to Chart a Path Forward, many of whom later periodically Issued Public Warnings about Indicators that Russia was both looking for New Ways to Interfere and Experimenting with Techniques in Ukraine and Europe.
One Senior Official described Homeland Security Officials as Adamant that the U.S. Government needed to Significantly Step Up its Efforts to Urge the American Public and Companies to Block Foreign Influence Campaigns. But the Department was Stymied by the White House’s Refusal to Discuss it, the Official said.
As a result, the Official said, the Government was Failing to Adequately Inform Americans about continuing Influence Efforts. A Second Senior Administration Official said Ms. Nielsen began Pushing after the November Midterms for the Governmentwide Efforts to Protect the 2020 Elections, but only after it became increasingly clear that she had Fallen Out of Trump’s Favor for Not Taking a Harder Line against Immigration.
That Official said Ms. Nielsen wanted to make Election Security a Top Priority at Meetings of Mr. Trump’s Principal National Security Aides, who Resisted Making it a Focus of the Discussions given that the 2020 Vote was, at the time, nearly Two years away.
Since Last Week’s Publication of the Report by the Special Counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, on Russian Interference in the Election that Trump Won, the President has Accused the Obama Administration of doing Nothing in 2016 to Push Back at Moscow’s Intrusion.
The Reality is more Complex: President Obama gave a Private Warning to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia at a Meeting in China in September 2016, and issued Sanctions against Russians and Expelled 35 Suspected Spies after the Vote. The Trump Administration has Added to those Sanctions.
On Friday, the day after Mueller’s Conclusions were made Public, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Trump Administration would Continue to Confront Moscow on its Attempts to Meddle in the 2020 Elections. “Russia interferes in a number of places,” Pompeo said. “I don’t think there’s been a discussion between a senior U.S. official and Russians in this administration where we have not raised this issue about our concern about Russia’s interference in our elections. We will make very clear to them this is unacceptable behavior,” he said.
But former Obama Administration Officials said Trump’s Aversion to even Discussing the Looming Threat remains a concern. “I do believe the Department of Homeland Security and the White House should be prioritizing this threat and should be doing so consistent with the intelligence community’s own assessment,” said Lisa Monaco, who Ran the Efforts to Counter Russian Cyber-Interference in 2016 as the White House Homeland Security Adviser to Obama. She said Parts of Mueller’s Report showed how the Threat from Russia had Grown.
More recently, Officials at the DHS credited Unprecedented help from Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, to Block Malicious Influence Campaigns in the 2018 Elections, including by taking down Inauthentic Posts or other Suspect Activity quickly. Microsoft also Warned of Attacks on the Offices of Two Senators.
Matthew Masterson, a Senior Adviser at the DHS who Coordinates its Election Cybersecurity, said Russian Interference remained a Threat as the 2020 Presidential Campaign approached. “We continue to expect a pervasive messaging campaign by the Russians to undermine our democratic institutions. We saw it in 2018, continue to see it and don’t expect it to subside. For us, we recognize that the goal is to undermine confidence in the elections and sow doubt,” Masterson said.
He said the Department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is Working with American States to Fortify Election Systems to Prevent Russians and other Hackers from Penetrating Voter Registration Records. The Department is also Working with other Federal Agencies to provide State Officials with more Information about Election Interference efforts.
“Russian intelligence’s 2016 covert actions to divide Americans by interfering in our election were so successful,” said Kevin T. Carroll, a Former CIA Officer who was a Senior Official at the DHS during the first Two Years of the Trump Administration. “Putin will amplify them in 2020,” he said.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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