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U.S. NEWS Monday 14 SepteMber 2020
Whistleblower's claims on Russian interference fit pattern

By ERIC TUCKER Associated stances in which it said the
Press president had it taken ac-
WASHINGTON (AP) — A tion against Russia.
whistleblower's allegation "This president has been res-
that he was pressured to olute that any foreign ad-
suppress intelligence about versary seeking to disrupt
Russian election interfer- our elections will face tre-
ence is the latest in a series mendous consequences,"
of similar accounts involv- White House spokeswoman
ing former Trump adminis- Sarah Matthews said.
tration officials, raising con- Senior Trump administration
cerns the White House risks officials have been eager
undercutting efforts to stop to focus more on China in
such intrusions if it plays discussing election interfer-
down the seriousness of the ence, asserting that Beijing
problem. is the more potent danger.
There is no question the Though career intelligence
administration has taken officials do say China is a
actions to counter Rus- major espionage concern,
sian interference, includ- there is also bipartisan con-
ing sanctions and criminal sensus, including in a Re-
charges on Thursday de- publican-led Senate intel-
signed to call out foreign in- ligence committee report,
fluence campaigns aimed that Russia directly inter-
at American voters. But fered in 2016 with the goal
Trump's resistance to em- of helping Trump defeat Associated Press
bracing the gravity of the Democrat Hillary Clinton.
threat could leave the ad- This year, intelligence offi- istration for even publicly efforts by Russia and its lose because it views him
ministration without a con- cials say, Russia is working supporting the intelligence proxies to interfere in the as unpredictable and has
sistent and powerful voice to denigrate Democratic community assessment on election, including one last been expanding its in-
of deterrence at the top of nominee Joe Biden. Russia, and that had a di- month that said Russia was fluence operations and
the government heading Murphy is not alone in al- rect and chilling effort on denigrating Biden. The Trea- weighing risks and benefits
into an election that U.S. leging that he felt stymied the ability of key Cabinet sury Department on Thurs- of more aggressive action.
officials say is again being from raising the Russia secretaries to get out and day sanctioned a Ukraine But a statement from intel-
targeted by Russia. threat head-on. do what they needed to lawmaker who has leaked ligence officials that ac-
Russian President Vladi- Miles Taylor, as chief of staff do to thwart foreign inter- recordings of Biden's calls cused Russia of actively try-
mir Putin "is not deterred," to former Homeland Securi- ference in our democracy," that Trump has promoted ing to undermine Biden sug-
said Connecticut Rep. ty Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Taylor said. on Twitter but that his own gested that China's actions
Jim Himes, a Democratic participated in high-level Trump's stance on Russian administration has said rely against Trump were less
member of the House Intel- administration meetings interference, including on a false narrative. Also direct. Microsoft, in identi-
ligence Committee. Himes and has in recent weeks publicly questioning intel- Thursday, the Trump ad- fying both countries as well
said Putin feels "empow- publicly conveyed his con- ligence agencies' assess- ministration Justice Depart- as Iran as being involved in
ered, probably inoculated cerns about Trump's leader- ment at a Helsinki news ment announced charges election-related hacking,
in the U.S. because of the ship. In an interview, Taylor conference with Putin, has against a Russian national has said that people asso-
president's behavior." said Nielsen had to create colored his relationship with in a plot to sow discord in ciated with the Biden cam-
Brian Murphy, the former a "shadow" National Se- spy chiefs. the U.S. paign were among those
top intelligence official at curity Council to deal with Last February, Trump erupt- But Taylor said that when targeted by Chinese state-
the Department of Home- the issue because she felt ed after learning of a con- he was in the administra- backed hackers.
land Security, alleges in the the president's own team gressional briefing involving tion, far tougher options Himes, the House Intelli-
complaint made public had not convened enough Russian interference, a se- that were contemplated gence Committee mem-
Wednesday that he was in- meetings to coordinate a nior administration official were not always pursued ber, said he was con-
structed to hold back intel- response. has said, and berated the when it came to Russia. cerned heading into the
ligence on Russian interfer- Once when Nielsen tried to then-acting director of na- "We felt like it was mission Nov. 3 election about intel-
ence because it "made the communicate the serious- tional intelligence, Joseph critical that the president ligence being twisted for
president look bad." That ness of the threat head- Maguire. firmly come down on the political reasons.
follows reports that Trump ing into the 2018 election, In arguing that Trump has Russians and punish Mos- "I'm not sure people natural-
berated his then-intelli- Trump responded that the been tough on Russia, the cow for their interference ly understand the destruc-
gence director after a con- whole issue was "all (exple- White House pointed to and punish them hard tion," he said, "that can be
gressional briefing about tive)," Taylor said. actions including the clo- enough that they would be caused by the politicization
Moscow's interference, In addition, Taylor said sure of Russian consulates dissuaded from engaging of intelligence."q
and that the president Trump president once tried on the West Coast, the in foreign meddling again,"
sought the firing of another to have the Homeland Se- expulsion of dozens of Rus- Taylor said.
official who told Congress curity Department's then- sian agents from the U.S., "The president didn't want
he supported intelligence intelligence chief fired af- sanctions on hundreds of to do that."
agencies' assessment that ter hearing that the official targets, the U.S. suspension Some administration offi-
Russia had interfered in had told lawmakers that he of a decades-old nuclear cials contend that China,
2016 with a preference for agreed with the assessment arms treaty and millions of which has been aggressive
Trump. of Russian interference dur- dollars in election-related in efforts to steal American
The department denied ing the 2016 election. funding. intellectual property, is the
Murphy's allegation, and "The president himself has The administration has also more assertive adversary.
the White House issued a threatened to fire multiple issued public statements Intelligence officials say
statement describing in- individuals in the admin- acknowledging ongoing China prefers that Trump