Senate Intelligence Committee releases report on Russian election interference

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released the third installment of its investigation into Russian interference in U.S. elections.

The third volume of the report, “U.S. Government Response to Russian Activities,” examines the Obama Administration’s reaction to initial reports of election interference.

While warnings were delivered to Russian officials, they didn’t temper Moscow’s activity as Russia continued disseminating stolen emails, conducting social media-based influence operations, and working to access state voting infrastructure in 2016.

The committee found that the Obama Administration was constrained in its response by several external and internal concerns, including a highly politicized environment, concern that public warnings would themselves undermine confidence in the election, and a delay in definitive attribution to Russia, among other issues.

The report said the Obama Administration treated cyber and geopolitical aspects of the Russian active measures campaign as separate issues. This bifurcated approach may have prevented the administration from fully understanding the threat and limiting its ability to respond. The decision to limit and delay information sharing about the foreign influence threat constrained the Obama Administration’s ability to respond.

“After discovering the existence, if not the full scope, of Russia’s election interference efforts in late-2016, the Obama Administration struggled to determine the appropriate response. Frozen by ‘paralysis of analysis,’ hamstrung by constraints both real and perceived, Obama officials debated courses of action without truly taking one. Many of their concerns were understandable, including the fear that warning the public of the election threat would only alarm the American people and accomplish Russia’s goal of undermining faith in our democratic institutions. In navigating those valid concerns, however, Obama officials made decisions that limited their options, including preventing internal information-sharing and siloing cyber and geopolitical threats,” committee chairman U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), said.

To combat future problems, the committee recommends the United States take the lead in creating international cyber norms to establish an international agreement on acceptable uses of cyber capabilities. The committee also recommends the Executive Branch prepare for future attacks by developing a range of standing options that can be rapidly executed in the event of a foreign influence campaign. Further, it recommends an integrated response to cyber events, not an isolated domain separate from other geopolitical considerations.

Finally, the committee recommends increased information sharing on foreign influence efforts, both within government and publicly. Credible information should be shared as broadly as appropriate within the federal government, along with relevant private sector partners and state and local authorities. If active measures are detected, the public should be informed as soon as possible with a clear and succinct statement of the threat.

“The 2016 Russian interference in our elections on behalf of Donald Trump was unprecedented in the history of our nation,” committee vice chair U.S. Sen. Mark warner (D-VA) said. “There were many flaws with the U.S. response to the 2016 attack, but it’s worth noting that many of those were due to problems with our own system – problems that can and should be corrected. I am particularly concerned however, that a legitimate fear raised by the Obama Administration – that warning the public of the Russian attack could backfire politically – is still present in our hyper-partisan environment. All Americans, particularly those of us in government and public office, must work together to push back on foreign interference in our elections without regard for partisan advantage.”