- US President Donald Trump plans to allege China's role in US elections in a primetime speech
- Claims include Beijing accessing voter data and CIA withholding information from Trump
- 2021 intelligence report found no evidence China tried to influence or alter the 2020 election
US President Donald Trump is expected to make fresh allegations about China's role in US elections during his primetime address on Friday morning. According to CBS, the speech will include claims that Beijing gained access to US voter data and that the CIA knew about it but did not inform Trump while he was serving his first term.
The address is expected to focus heavily on election-related issues, though the White House has not officially confirmed what Trump will say.
Top Security Chiefs Invited
Several of the country's top national security officials are expected to attend the speech. Those invited include the heads of the CIA, FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Department of Homeland Security and other senior officials. A few Cabinet members are expected to miss the event because of prior commitments.
When asked about reports on the speech, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the speculation.
"As usual, anonymous sources are speculating about what President Trump will say during his speech on Thursday evening. The truth is, nobody knows yet what President Trump will ultimately say, which is why everyone should tune in," she said.
What Intelligence Reports Actually Said
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the 2020 presidential election was stolen because of widespread fraud.
However, a US intelligence assessment released in early 2021 concluded with "high confidence" that China did not try to influence the outcome of the election. The report said Beijing believed neither a Biden victory nor a Trump victory was important enough to risk being caught interfering. It also found no evidence that China targeted election infrastructure or vote-counting systems.
At the same time, the assessment noted a "minority view" from the National Intelligence Officer for Cyber. That official believed with "moderate confidence" that China tried to weaken Trump's re-election campaign through social media activity and official public statements. Even then, the official agreed there was no attempt to interfere with the actual election process.
China Studied Voter Data
A separate intelligence report from April 2020, later declassified in 2022 with large portions blacked out, said Chinese intelligence had "analysed multiple U.S. states' ... election voter registration data".
The report suggested the purpose was to "conduct public opinion analysis on the 2020 US general election".
It did not explain how China obtained the data or whether any confidential information was involved. It also did not accuse Beijing of changing voter records or trying to manipulate the election.
No Evidence Voting Was Altered
The same 2021 intelligence assessment said Russia sought to damage Joe Biden's campaign while Iran worked against Trump's campaign. But it found neither country attacked US election infrastructure.
The report also said there were "no indications" that any foreign government altered voter registrations, ballot casting, vote counting or any other technical part of the election.
It concluded, "We assess that it would be difficult for a foreign actor to manipulate election processes at scale without detection by intelligence collection on the actors themselves, through physical and cyber security monitoring around voting systems across the country, or in post-election audits."
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