Exclusive: Trump to target foreign interference in US elections with sanctions order – sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump plans to sign a decree Wednesday that will punish all foreign companies or those who will intervene in US elections, based on intelligence agency findings, said two sources close to the case.

Trump's decision coincides with the fact that intelligence agencies, armed forces and law enforcement are preparing to defend the November 6 elections against planned foreign attacks while Trump mocks an investigation by special councils on Russian interference.

The White House declined to comment.

Sanction targets could include individuals or entire companies accused of intervening in US elections by cyber-attacks or other means, a US official told Reuters.

"The administration is eager to set a new standard in cyberspace," said the manager. "This is a first step in defining the boundaries and the public announcement of our response to bad behavior."

The decree represents the latest in a series of efforts by the Trump administration to judge electoral security before voting in November to decide whether the Trump Republican Party can retain its majority in the US House of Representatives and in the Senate.

The order will establish a variety of agencies to decide whether there has been interference, led by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, including the CIA, the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

On the basis of a recent version of the order revised by the US official, it will be necessary for any federal agency to be aware of the electoral interference of foreigners to bring the information to the office of the director of national intelligence.

Electoral interferences will be defined in the ordinance as attempts to hack against "electoral infrastructure" and efforts to influence public opinion through coordinated digital propaganda or systematic leaks of information private policies.

US intelligence officials found that during the US presidential election campaign of 2016, Russian hackers violated the Democratic National Committee and leaked confidential information.

The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have already reported on previous versions of the decree.

Congress was deliberately excluded from the process of writing the decrees, said the official, because the administration wants to pre-empt legislation being considered in the House and Senate that deals with similar issues.

US lawmakers have introduced various pieces of legislation related to Russia, including the "Deter Act," to impose sanctions for electoral interference and what a lawmaker has called a "bill of law". "Hell" to punish Moscow for its activities in Syria. , In Ukraine and elsewhere.

Democrats and Republicans are seeking to redress what they see as Trump's weak stance on Russian interference charges in 2016, when he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in July. Trump stunned the world by accepting Putin's denials over the word of his own intelligence agencies.

Congress passed a law on sanctions against Russia more than a year ago. Some lawmakers – including Republicans and Democrats – have criticized the administration's reluctance to enforce it. Trump signed the bill only after the Congress passed with the vast majority.

In accordance with this law, the US Treasury imposed major sanctions on 24 Russians, hitting Putin's allies in one of Washington's most aggressive measures to punish Moscow.