White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan acknowledged Sunday the Biden administration is concerned about Russia trying to interfere with the United States presidential elections this November.
Sullivan said the administration will be working with Congress in a bipartisan manner and will work vigilantly to monitor and prevent any interference.
“This is not about politics,” he told NBC News on Sunday. “This is about national security. It is about a foreign country, a foreign adversary, seeking to manipulate the politics and democracy of the United States of America.”
The comment comes after FBI Director Christopher Wray and National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone warned that Russia was not deterred from interfering with U.S. elections, despite the war in Ukraine.
“If anything, you could make the argument that their focus on Ukraine has increased their desire to focus on trying to shape what we look like and how we think about issues,” Wray said last month. “Because U.S. policy matters deeply to their utterly unprovoked and outrageous invasion of Ukraine.”
A U.S. intelligence report found Russia had attempted to interfere in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections by skewing the narrative around certain candidates, such as Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Russia is also reportedly trying to manipulate other elections across Europe.
Former President Donald Trump has denied the reports that Russia interfered with the 2016 election in his favor, calling the claims “a hoax.” Claims that Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign colluded with Russian operatives to swing the election in Trump’s favor have been widely debunked.
A Microsoft report published earlier this month found that other countries, including Iran and China, are also trying to skew the 2024 presidential election, by using artificial intelligence to try and coordinate cyberattacks.
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