Russia is mounting allegations of mail-in voter fraud, Intel Bulletin warns

Bulletin: Targeted voting process without “Russian bad influence actors”.

Russia seeks to “amplify” concerns about the integrity of US elections by promoting allegations that mail-in voting could lead to widespread fraud, echoing the frequent and unsubstantiated allegations made by the president, according to intelligence reports received by ABC News. Donald Trump.

Investigators from the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence agency issued a warning Thursday to federal and state law enforcement partners after they were “overconfident” that “Russian bad influencers” had been targeting the non-voting process by “spreading false information” at least since March. .

“In mid-August 2020 the Russian state media and proxy websites criticized the integrity of the expanded and global ballot by e-mail, claiming that ineligible voters could cast ballots due to the outdated voter list, leaving a large number of votes untouched,” the bulletin notes.

“These websites have been accused of severely affecting the U.S. Postal Service and local election boards by voting,” it continues, “delaying the ballot and creating more opportunities for fraud and error.”

President Trump has long sought to undermine public confidence in the upcoming election, with unsubstantiated warnings that postal voting could lead to widespread voter fraud. As the ongoing corona virus outbreak is expected to prevent many voters from voting in person, it is expected that more Americans will not vote than ever before.

John Cohen, the former deputy secretary of intelligence for the DHS under President Barack Obama, said the parallel news from both the Trump campaign and Russia’s bad actors was “extremely worrying.”

“This most recent DHS intelligence report, and the latest report from intelligence and law enforcement agencies, should be suspected of spreading Russian conspiracy theories and undermining confidence in the electoral process in an attempt to influence the outcome of the 2020 election, and will affect voter opinion,” said Cohen, an ABC News contributor.

On Wednesday, ABC News first reported senior DHS officials The July bulletin was discontinued From the distribution found that Russia will continue to raise questions about Biden’s mental health to affect the 2020 election – the president, 74, and his re – election campaign have been used against the former vice president, who will soon turn 78 on election day.

The July 2020 bulletin, entitled “Russia Possibility to Reduce the Health of American Candidates to Influence the 2020 Election,” also cited Iranian and Chinese plans to criticize President Donald Trump.

A Biden campaign spokesman on Wednesday accused the Trump campaign of “speaking from the same script of smear and lies” as the Kremlin.

Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murdoch responded to ABC News’ original statement by saying, “We do not need or want any foreign intervention.”

“President Trump will win Joe Biden fairly and squarely,” he said.

In a statement to ABC News, a DHS spokesman confirmed that the July product was “delayed”, explaining that it “lacked the necessary context and evidence for widespread coverage”.

After ABC News released its report, Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf acknowledged the bulletin, saying it was a “very badly written statement” when it appeared on Fox News.

Democrats in Congress have vowed to investigate the chapter as part of the House Inquiry’s ongoing investigation into the activities of Homeland Security intelligence during the protests in Portland, Ore.