Washington The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is “focusing seriously” on the threat of potential election interference in the 2024 presidential election from outside forces, particularly adversaries such as Russia, China, and Iran, following the bad experience of 2016 Russian interference.
According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, “It is not seriously disputed that our foreign adversaries have tried and are continuing to interfere in our elections.”
“We are focused on the risk that foreign adversaries, whether it’s Russia, China, Iran, or others, will seek to interfere in our elections,” Wray, the FBI chief since 2017, told lawmakers in the Senate last week. ”
The FBI boss acknowledged that the risks of outside influence on the 2024 presidential election are “increased.”
“It is not disputed that the Russians tried to interfere in the 2016 election and then continued,” Wray said.
Apart from the threat to the election machinery, there is also a threat from outside countries, which can influence views and public opinion before the elections.
Last month, Facebook’s parent company Meta announced it had shut down nearly 4,800 fake accounts created by someone in China that appeared to be from Americans with the intention of spreading polarizing political content, the Washington Examiner reported. Were.
The left-leaning group Free Speech for People, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on election and campaign finance reforms, wrote a letter to Wray earlier this month, citing previous efforts to access voting system software. Attorney General Merrick Garland was also made aware of the concern.
