IN BRIEF: What we know about Trump’s election meddling allegations, US intelligence report

IN BRIEF: What we know about Trump’s election meddling allegations, US intelligence report According to the US leader, China gained unauthorized access to 220 million US voter files in 2020© Saul Loeb/ Pool via APWASHINGTON, July 17. /TASS/. While speaking in the White House in a televised address to the nation, US President Donald Trump announced that the US administration would release declassified information about shocking vulnerabilities in the country’s voting systems. He said that Russia is among "the United States’ adversaries," allegedly attempting to influence the US elections. Trump also stated that in 2020, China gained unauthorized access to 220 million US voter files. TASS has compiled the key information known at the moment. US leader’s statements about voting systems’ vulnerability "Tonight, I’m announcing the immediate declassification and release of critical intelligence, revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure." The declassified data show that the US election system exposes "like levels never thought possible to hacking, exploitation, and foreign interference." The US intelligence information demonstrates that the country’s voting systems "are extremely exposed to attack." The election process is "in such bad shape in so many states," the Trump administration is committed to fixing it: "We’re also committing to be working with those states and local jurisdictions to help them fix and patch known technical vulnerabilities before the midterm elections." The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has identified around 278,000 US non-citizens registered to vote in federal elections in the country: "According to the DHS review, state voter rolls and public records, they identified approximately 278,000 non-citizens who are registered to vote in federal elections. Since Democrat states refused to share their voter files, the real number is actually much higher than that." Trump’s statements about China and Russia’s alleged influence on US elections Russia and China are among "the United States’ adversaries," allegedly attempting to influence US elections: "As one assessment states, ‘We judge that the United States’ adversaries, including at a minimum Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, as well as non-state groups, have the capability to compromise US election infrastructure.’" Members of the deep state in the US concealed information about the extent of China’s alleged interference in the US elections from the country’s government and the American people: "The second set of documents we are releasing reveals that members of the deep state - very, very famous group of people, in many cases, in our intelligence agency - worked to actively suppress and downplay information about the extent of China’s sinister election meddling, covering it up from both the president and the American people, like nobody thought was possible." US president’s statements about voter data In 2020, China allegedly gained unauthorized access to 220 million US voter records: "Over a period of years, starting during the 2020 election cycle, the People’s Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China’s illicit acquisition of 220 million US voter files. That information includes names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences, and other sensitive data." The US president administration is notifying states, where voter data has allegedly been compromised, and will take urgent measures to protect this information: "In light of the brand new and irrefutable information I have revealed tonight, my administration is in the process of notifying the states whose election data was compromised by the People’s Republic of China and many others. We will be working closely to mitigate any harm, and we’re taking swift action to ensure that sensitive voter data is better protected so we can never be bought, we can never be hacked, and we can never watch a stolen election again." US National Intelligence Council report Ahead of the 2020 US presidential election, the US intelligence believed that then German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not want Donald Trump to be re-elected, according to a US National Intelligence Council report from August 2020, declassified and published by the White House. Its authors noted that Merkel criticized the Trump administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and that "she cited the 2020 election as a "risk factor" for the EU during a private video call with other European leaders." In 2020, the US intelligence community allegedly reported that Russia allegedly wanted Donald Trump’s re-election as president and campaigned against his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden. The report claims, without any evidence, that individuals allegedly linked to Russia were "seeking to boost President Trump's candidacy on social media." According to the report, the Russian side was "using a range of measures primarily to denigrate former Vice President" Joe Biden. It is alleged that materials largely "favorable to the President [Trump]," as well as information about Biden and his family’s links to corruption in Ukraine were distributed. Earlier, the US has made similar allegations, which have been repeatedly denied by the Russian side. The report also claims that the US intelligence community believed that Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud feared Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 US presidential election. Moreover, according to the report, Turkish authorities attempted to covertly influence US politicians and local elections in the country. 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