E-Paper
WhiteHouse.gov website crashes as Trump announces release of declassified election integrity documents
Social media users reported access issues after President Donald Trump announced the release of declassified election integrity documents.
The White House website crashed on Thursday, showing “Too Many Requests,” after President Donald Trump announced the release of declassified documents related to election integrity.
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What happened to WhiteHouse.gov?
In an effort to support Trump's contested allegations of meddling in the 2020 presidential election, the White House started distributing dozens of declassified documents on election security on Thursday night.
The documents, which were released on the whitehouse.gov website, address everything from Chinese attempts to get and utilize American voter data to flaws in American voting machines.
Users on X claimed that WhiteHouse.gov became temporarily unavailable shortly after the announcement. Many users shared screenshots showing error messages and speculated that a surge in traffic had overwhelmed the site.
The White House news portal remained active with regularly updated releases and statements on Thursday, although users reported intermittent difficulties accessing certain pages during the period in question.
In his primetime speech on Thursday, Trump cited the newly declassified papers as proof that future elections would be vulnerable to foreign meddling, especially by China.
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What did Trump announce?
During his primetime speech, Trump said, “Tonight, I am announcing the immediate declassification and release of critical intelligence revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure."
He continued, “This evidence shows that the election system we have is dangerously exposed to hacking, exploitation, and foreign interference.”
Trump alleged that China obtained voter names, addresses, phone numbers, and political party preferences through the "largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China’s illicit acquisition of 220 million US voter files."
According to President Donald Trump, the American electoral system "falls catastrophically short" of being impartial and truthful.
"Every American deserves to know that their vote will be counted accurately in a system, and that is to make that system secure—one where cheating and interference are not just difficult, but virtually impossible," he remarked. "Unfortunately, the current system falls terribly short of that standard."
However, before the speech began, in response to rumors that Trump might use the address to accuse Beijing of electoral meddling, the Chinese Embassy in Washington on Thursday denied any involvement in attempts to influence U.S. elections.
In a statement, spokesman Liu Chang stated, “China has never and will never interfere in the U.S. presidential elections. China has consistently upheld the principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of others.”
He continued, “The U.S. election is a domestic issue. The American people's votes determine its outcome.”
