The top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees said Wednesday that a classified U.S. intelligence briefing showed Russia is running a misinformation campaign aimed at Democrats in next month’s midterm elections, with Election Day now less than two weeks away.
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told reporters on Capitol Hill that they had requested the election security briefing from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, according to Reuters.
“Going after Democrats”
The two lawmakers said they were limited in what they could share because the material is classified. But they said Russia is waging the same kind of online influence campaign that the U.S. intelligence community tracked in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 elections.
“And the state of play, I would argue, is that, you know, Russia, similar to prior occasions, is going after Democrats,” Warner said.
Warner pointed to news reports that Democrat James Talarico, who is running for the U.S. Senate in Texas, and Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is seeking re-election in Georgia, “in particular are being dinged” by fake advertisements created with artificial intelligence.
Himes described Moscow’s conduct as “the same old, same old.” “The Russians are kind of throwing everything out there,” he said. “Chaos, you know, don’t trust your voting machines.”
China and others also active
Himes said there was “no reason to believe” that China has not been conducting “extremely targeted” efforts to influence voters, as it has in the past. According to The Record from Recorded Future News, Himes also said other foreign powers, including Iran and North Korea, are engaged in influence efforts.
Russia and China have previously denied interfering in U.S. elections. The Russian and Chinese embassies, the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
No sign of vote tampering
Both lawmakers stressed that the threat they described is about influence, not hacking. “Nothing out there suggests that there is even the capability or the intent to do interference, whereas there is a pretty robust influence environment,” Himes said, emphasizing that there is no evidence any country could break into U.S. election systems and change results.
The lawmakers also said they were concerned that President Donald Trump could try to contest election results, including by claiming foreign hacking of voting infrastructure. According to The Record, Warner and Himes said they have sought assurances that Clayton and CIA Director John Ratcliffe will be available on Election Day in case unsubstantiated claims are made.
Himes said the House Intelligence Committee will receive another election security briefing next week, arranged by committee chairman Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark. Warner said his committee would push for a similar closed-door session.
The bigger picture
The warning comes as Trump has in recent weeks eased economic sanctions on Russia and increased pressure on Ukraine to end its fight against Russian forces, Reuters reported. Recent Reuters/Ipsos polling has shown Democrats leading Republicans on the generic congressional ballot by high single digits to low double digits nationally, ahead of next month’s midterms.
This article is based on reporting by Reuters and The Record from Recorded Future News.