Russian Interference in the 2016 U.S. Elections

In January 2017], the entire intelligence community reached the unanimous conclusion that Russia took extraordinary steps to intervene in our 2016 Presidential elections. Much of what the Russians did at this point is well known: spreading fake news, flooding social media, hacking personal e-mails and leaking them for maximum political benefit. Without firing a shot and at minimal cost, Russia sowed chaos in our political system and undermined faith in our democratic process. Russia's interference in our elections in 2016 was a watershed moment in our political history. In 2016, a hostile foreign power reached down to the State and local levels to touch voter data. It employed relatively sophisticated cyber tools and capabilities and helped Moscow to potentially build detailed knowledge of how our elections work. It was also another example of Russian efforts to interfere into a democracy with the goal of undermining our system. In 2016, we were woefully unprepared to defend and respond. Our witnesses are here to tell us more about what happened in 2016, what that tells us about Russian intentions, and what we should expect in 2018 and 2020. The hearing will feature two panels. The first panel will include expert witnesses from DHS and FBI to discuss Russian intervention in 2016 elections and U.S. government efforts to mitigate the threat. The second panel will include witnesses from the Illinois State Board of Elections, the National Association of State Election Directors, the National Association of Secretaries of States, and an expert on election security to give us their on-the-ground perspective on how Federal resources might be brought to bear on this very important issue.