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WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is preparing a new decree to authorize sanctions against foreign nationals suspected of interfering in US elections, according to officials who revised the decree.
The new order broadly targets any potential outside interference in US elections, but aims to give the government an additional tool to punish and deter Russian entities suspected of trying to spread misinformation or otherwise influence the mid-term polls. and subsequent polls.
The new powers of sanction come as the Trump administration has been criticized for not doing enough to try to prevent Russian interference.
The order could be signed as early as Wednesday, although officials have warned that the schedule could change due to the threat of Hurricane Florence or due to a new revision of the White House.
The order, a concise document of less than two full pages, would give the national intelligence director, in collaboration with other agencies, the power to identify foreign interference in an election, officials said. The Treasury Department would be responsible for administering sanctions against foreign individuals and entities. The Ministry of Justice, F.B.I. and intelligence agencies would be involved in investigating allegations of interference.
Democrats in Congress and others have criticized the Trump administration for being too slow to develop new policies and procedures to counter electoral interference. Some technology leaders also said the government had done too little to share information with social media companies that Russian agents have sought to use to spread misinformation.
Administration officials rebuffed the criticism, saying the government was seriously considering the threat of interference and intensifying its response.
The decree, said an official, will be proof of the seriousness of efforts to counter the influence.
After the July summit with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, criticism of President Trump intensified. At the press conference, Trump rejected the intelligence agency's conclusion that Russia had been ingested in the 2016 elections.
While Mr. Trump sometimes acknowledged that Russia was trying to intervene, he often feared not to win his campaign in a fair way and to minimize the role that Moscow might have in the outcome.
Despite Trump's ambivalence, intelligence officials said Russian entities continued to interfere in US democratic institutions. Facebook and other tech companies have identified what they said were fake grassroots campaigns to sow division before the mid-term elections in November.
White House officials insisted that Trump act against any foreign government or entity that seeks to influence the US elections.
"President Trump is committed to protecting our country's elections against foreign interference and has made it clear that his administration will not tolerate foreign interference in our elections with a country or other malicious actor," Garrett said Tuesday. Marquis, spokesperson for the National Security Council. .
The decree was reported for the first time by Reuters on Tuesday.
Officials downplayed the effectiveness of sanctions against electoral interference. Russia is already under heavy sanctions for its annexation of Crimea and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, as well as for its electoral interference. The administration also organized a series of sanctions in March and June against intelligence services and Russian officials because of electoral interference and cyber attacks.
Last year, Congress passed a law requiring the government to penalize Russia in response to its efforts to interfere in the 2016 elections. This law resulted in the March and June sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department.
The new executive order could give the US government an additional tool to highlight individuals or entities involved in continued interference.
Russia has been accused of trying to infiltrate the electoral infrastructure and spread misinformation to try to influence the vote. Senior government officials are often careful not to focus solely on Russia, but note that a number of hostile countries in the United States may seek to intervene.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has been more public in its discussions about this threat.
In August, Dan Coats, Director of National Intelligence, Christopher Wray, F.B.I. The director and other officials appeared in the White House to outline the measures they were taking to prevent foreign interference.
Coats said at the time that intelligence agencies had learned the lessons of 2016.
"The president has specifically asked us to address the issue of electoral interference and to ensure that our electoral process is a priority," he said. "And we did it, and we do it, and will continue to do it."
