A national security expert warned the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that Russia’s disinformation campaign in 2016 sought to “crumble democracies from the inside out” by “winning the second cold war through the force of politics, as opposed to the politics of force.”
Clint Watts, a senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute Program on National Security, described how he and his colleagues first noticed in 2014 a petition on theWhiteHouse.gov website called, “Alaska back to Russia.” Further investigation into that petition showed that most of the 39,000 signatures on the petition were the work of “bots,” which were closely linked to other social media campaigns that appeared to be pushing Russian propaganda.
It was just one eye-opening example offered by a panel of experts to the SSCI’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
The vice chairman of the committee, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., warned that Russia deployed a “deluge of disinformation in a broader attempt to undermine America’s strength and leadership throughout the world.”
Clearly of concern to the committee is that Russian capabilities could grow and become more sophisticated in upcoming elections, not only in the United States but abroad.
Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., mirrored Warner’s statements, adding, “We’re all targets of a sophisticated and capable adversary” when it comes to Russia’s efforts to spread disinformation in the electoral process of democratic countries.
The Senate investigation is clearly seeking to rise above the parallel investigation being conducted by the House Intelligence Committee, which has been mired in partisan bickering and rocked by explosive revelations about raw intelligence data.
“I want to make clear, at least for me: This is not about whether you have a ‘D’ or an ‘R’ next to your name,” Warner said. “It is not about relitigating last fall’s election. It is about clearly understanding and responding to this very real threat.”
While Warner emphasized a bipartisan investigation, he still went on to criticize President Trump.
“I have to say editorially,” Warner began, “that the president’s recent conduct, with his wild and uncorroborated accusations about wiretapping, and his inappropriate and unjustified attacks on America’s hard-working intelligence professionals, does give me grave concern.”
