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PHILADELPHIA – Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security
Kirstjen Nielsen
warned Saturday that Russia's electoral interference constituted a "direct attack on our democracy", claiming that the act of accusation of alleged piracy of these attacks would have consequences on Friday
in a speech to a rally of state secretaries and election directors. In that country, Nielsen said the US elections would not be shaken by cyber attacks on foreign opponents, while stressing the need for national and local authorities to take the issue seriously.
"Any attempt to interfere in our elections His remarks were made a day after special advocate Robert Mueller had fired an indictment accusing 12 Russian intelligence agents of" misdemeanor ". hacked the computer systems of the Democratic Party organizations. in the presidential election of 2016.
The indictment showed that the United States "does not tolerate interference with our democratic processes, and that" there will be consequences for foreign interference, "said Ms. Nielsen.
Her comments come as some Republican lawmakers and associates of the President
Donald Trump
continue calling at the end of Mr. Mueller's investigation, calling it a witch hunt designed to undermine the Trump administration.
The indictment details how hackers infiltrated the networks and orchestrated leaks of stolen emails to post embarrassing information about
Hillary Clinton,
the Democratic candidate for the presidency.
He also accused the pirates of violating the election office of an unnamed state and stealing information on about 500,000 voters. Officials from Illinois said Friday night that they were "very likely" this state. There is no indication that vote totals have been affected or altered.
Trump said Thursday and Friday that he would intervene during his meeting Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, although it is unclear how much he would focus on this issue compared to other topics, such as the conflict in Syria.
Ms. Nielsen said that there was no indication at this point that Russia was targeting the mid-term elections of 2018 "on a scale or scope" corresponding to their activities in 2016. She nevertheless said that Russia continued to try to interfere in US affairs.
Intelligence agencies observed "persistent Russian efforts using social media, sympathetic spokespersons and other fronts to sow discord and division among the American people," Nielsen said, adding that these efforts were "not necessarily campaign – oriented"
Ms. Nielsen reiterated that the government had no evidence to suggest that votes had been changed in the 2016 elections. She said that the confusion about electoral security was being armed by "people trying to politicize the issue . "
Ms. Nielsen has not named these individuals, but Republicans have repeatedly accused Democrats of shameful electoral interference to delegitimize Mr. Trump. Democrats, in turn, said Republicans refuse to respond to intelligence leaders' call for serious Russian interference, preferring instead to protect a president whose campaign and associates remain under investigation Federal.
Nielsen said the Homeland Secretary's ministry assumed that Russian piracy efforts "targeted the 50 states" in 2016, but in most cases, rudimentary attempts failed.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has refuted the accusations. interference more widely, saying that the investigation of his interference is an effort to undermine better US-Russian relations.
Nielsen's remarks echo those of senior intelligence official Dan Coats, who said on Friday that the United States was "one-click" from Russia to launch a large-scale attack on the country's electoral infrastructure. kind of those of 2016.
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