NEW YORK CITY — Vice President Mike Pence told private sector leaders and top cybersecurity government officials Tuesday he had no doubt Russia attempted to and interfered in the 2016 election in which President Trump was elected to office.
“The fact is, Russia meddled in our 2016 elections. That is the unambiguous judgment of our intelligence community,” Pence said at the Department of Homeland Security’s first-ever summit on cybersecurity in New York City.
“Russia’s goal was to sow discord and division and weaken the American people’s faith in our democracy. And while no actual votes were changed, the United States of America will not tolerate any foreign interference in our elections from any nation state — not from Russia, China, Iran, North Korea — or anyone else,” Pence added.
[Byron York: Why Trump doesn’t admit Russian election interference]
Pence’s statement came hours after DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen unequivocally said that Russia tried to affect the U.S. democratic process. Both were some of the most intense statements from the administration admitting Russia’s actions had an impact on the events surrounding Trump’s assuming office.
“Two years ago, a foreign power launched a brazen, multi-faceted influence campaign … to distort our presidential election,” Nielsen said during a roundtable discussion. “Let me be clear: Our intelligence community had it right. It was the Russians.”
“We know that it was directed from the highest levels. And we cannot and will not allow it to happen again,” she added.
After Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki earlier this month, Trump implied that there was some ambiguity about whether Russia had interfered. And he did not publicly rebut Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denials that his government acted to manipulate the presidential election. This drew strenuous bipartisan criticism.
Trump’s campaign and transition team have been at the center of a federal investigation since spring 2017 regarding possible collusion with the Russian government.
