The Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election was part of a broader interference attack on the U.S., targeting numerous states and their election systems, according to Sen. Mark Warner in an interview with USA Today.
One day after The Intercept published a highly classified NSA intelligence report revealing new details about Russia’s efforts to influence last year’s election, the leading Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee said the attacks were much more widespread than previously reported.
While acknowledging he did not see evidence the attacks affected specific voting outcomes, the Virginia Democrat stated he was encouraging those in the intelligence community to declassify the names of the states affected. He mentioned most states that were targeted are aware but the overall number remains unknown.
Warner stated he wants information about the interference campaign to be available in order to prepare for the 2018 midterms and 2020 presidential election.
“None of these actions from the Russians stopped on Election Day,” he told USA Today.
Warner’s comments come two days before former FBI Director James Comey is scheduled to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Comey is expected to discuss Russian meddling in the 2016 election and his conversations with President Trump about the FBI’s investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and The Kremlin.
The American intelligence community believes the Russian government ran an influence campaign on the election, and eventually developed a preference for Trump over Hillary Clinton.
