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Trump accuses China of interference in 2020 elections, orders FBI probe: 'Largest compromise'
The fresh allegations by Donald Trump come despite a US intelligence assessment finding no evidence that Beijing altered the 2020 vote.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday renewed his allegations of Chinese interference in the 2020 presidential election, accusing Beijing of carrying out "the largest compromise of election data." He also directed the FBI to investigate China's alleged role in altering the 2020 vote, describing it as "the largest compromise."
"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," Trump said.
The US President also said he was declassifying data that would reveal "shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure."
'I am asking the Directorate of National Intelligence, FBI to investigate China, Trump said and added, “This data loss presents an unprecedented election security nightmare.”
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On Trump's latest tirade, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy, Liu Chang told Reuters, "China has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the US."
What the previous assessment said on China's role
The fresh allegations come despite a US intelligence assessment finding no evidence that Beijing altered the 2020 vote. He asserted that members of the US intelligence community deliberately suppressed information about the extent of China's activities.
“The Departments investigated multiple public claims that one or more foreign governments owned, directed or controlled election infrastructure used in the 2020 federal elections; implemented a scheme to manipulate election infrastructure; or tallied, changed or otherwise manipulated vote counts. The Departments found that those claims were not credible,” the previous assessment had concluded.
The 2020 US presidential polls that ended in win for Democrat Joe Biden has been a contentious issue for Trump as he and his allies have filed more than 60 lawsuits, though none of the rulings have been able to establish any rigging in the polls.
Declassified documents to be made public, says CIA boss
CIA director John Ratcliffe said that the intelligence agency will publicly release the declassified documents linked to China's role in 2020 vote. “Protecting our democracy and the integrity of our elections from foreign influence and interference remains paramount. This is why we produced key intelligence reporting showing that Venezuela's government had developed capabilities to manipulate electronic voting systems, raising serious concerns for US election infrastructure security,” Ratcliffe said in a statement shared on X.
He said that he has previously 'publicly highlighted China's nefarious efforts' to interfere in the 2020 US presidential elections. “The documents declassified today shed further light on China's intentions. These matters deserve public scrutiny to ensure our democracy's foundation—the security and public confidence in our elections—is unassailable,” the CIA director said.
With inputs from Reuters
