The former DHS chief wanted meetings on the threat of cabinet-level elections, but the White House refused

In recent months, before resigning from her post, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was barred from convening high-level White House cabinet meetings on possible Russian interference in the upcoming US elections. told ABC News two senior officials of the administration. .

Nielsen, whose department is charged with defending US infrastructure, including elections against cyberattacks, was sounding the alarm publicly before mid-2018. After the mid-term, she asked the White House to convene a cabinet meeting to address the issue head on, but the White House has "refused", according to one official, forcing the DHS to convene alone meetings with directors.

White House staff also told Nielsen that the issue did not need to be brought to Trump 's attention, according to this official.

"The White House did not want to focus on the issue at the director level, period," said the manager at ABC News.

Evan Vucci / AP

The last in-person meetings of the firm at the main level took place before the mid-term elections in November 2018, and since then there have been more, according to three senior officials of the administration. One of them said the top national security officials had had more limited discussions on the subject.

"We are much, much better prepared than in 2016, but we are still well behind our opponents. It is clear that the administration has not made foreign interference a sufficient priority. This is a feeling felt in all agencies, "said one of the officials.

The New York Times first reported on Wednesday the White House's resistance to Nielsen's efforts. The Times reported that Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney told Nielsen not to talk to the President about it, saying it was not a big issue and he should stay below his level .

In a statement to ABC News, Mulvaney said, "I do not remember anything of the kind that occurred at a meeting, but unlike the Obama administration, which was aware of Russian actions in 2014 and did nothing, the Trump administration will not tolerate any foreign interference. in our elections, and we have already taken many steps to prevent it in the future. "

The Obama administration has taken action against Russian interference in the elections, including private warnings and sanctions.

John Taggart / Bloomberg via Getty Images

A DHS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Nielsen resigned earlier this month. Garrett Marquis, spokesperson for the National Security Council of the White House, said in a statement: "The National Security Council staff leads the regular and ongoing coordination of the whole-of-government approach to combating terrorism." Perverse foreign influence and to ensure the security of elections.

"It is absolutely wrong to suggest that the administration is making less effort to secure the US elections," he said.

The redacted version of the 448-page report by special advocate Robert Mueller, sent to Congress last week, exposed both what he described as Russia's "radical and systematic" effort to interfering with the 2016 presidential election, as well as Trump's concern that recognition of this interference could undermine his electoral victory.

"After the elections, the president told councilors that reports of Russian electoral interference could lead the public to question the legitimacy of his election," the report said.

Even before the mid-term elections, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including intelligence officials, expressed frustration at what they saw as the lack of a clear strategy for the government's share to fight against greater Russian interference.

After the publication of the Mueller report, experts said it was "disappointing" to see all Russia's efforts to undermine American society and the political process in the same place.

The US intelligence services and Mueller's previous indictments had already accused Russia of three attempts to interfere in 2016: a hacking operation targeting democratic personalities, a massive online campaign of influence to sow the Social and political disagreement in the United States and cyber attacks the electoral infrastructure itself, such as voter databases. But last week, the Mueller report exposed, in a narrative way, the Kremlin's pressure to weaken American democracy – a strategy that, according to officials and experts, continues today.

The mid-term elections of 2018 have not seen the hacking and flight strategy nor any particularly significant attack on the voting infrastructure, but foreign online influence operations have continued relentlessly, revealed an evaluation of the intelligence community. Senior US security officials have issued warnings that Russia, potentially with China, Iran, and others who had learned from the dark lessons of 2016, may be targeting the 2020 race.

"The risk of electoral interference by a foreign government is an existential threat to national security," said John Cohen, former senior security department official and contributor to ABC News, after the publication of the Mueller report. "While some agencies such as the FBI, the Homeland Security Department and the US Cyber ​​Command are working to mitigate this threat, the US government can and must do more to counter the threat to our electoral process, but this requires visible leadership from the White House. and the president himself. "

Former Trump campaign advisor, Chris Christie, told ABC News podcast "The Investigation" on April 18 that, while he was addressing the president, he would ask him to "focus now" on the 2020 threat, for practical and political reasons.

"You know, bring [CIA Director] Gina Haspel and [FBI Director] Chris Wray, bring the DNI [Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats] and say, "Listen, we now have a roadmap for what the Russians have done. What are we doing to prepare for the 2020 elections? I authorize you to do everything you need to do to protect the integrity of this election and we will work with Congress to make sure that … if you need additional funding, you 're the only person who can do it. will get in order to protect the integrity of our elections. & # 39;

"I've often thought it would be a really productive thing for him and a smart thing for him to do it politically," said Christie, former New Jersey governor and current contributor to ABC News.

Last week, another spokesman for the National Security Council of the White House declined to comment on Trump's personal interest in Russia's interference, but stressed the measures taken by the 39, administration to counter foreign interference in the elections for being ingested in an election in the United States, "said the Justice Ministry to charges against alleged Russian agents.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week that he would warn his Russian counterparts of "the unwavering obligation that Russia would not engage in an activity that would affect the ability of our democracy to succeed. "

"And we will tell them very clearly that it's unacceptable behavior and, as you've seen from this administration, we will take some tough steps that will increase the cost of it." 39, malignant activity of Russia, "he said. "And we will continue to do it."