The Threat To U.S. Elections
Russia is attempting to interfere with the presidential election yet again. What’s Moscow doing this time?
Guests
Jack Delaney, freelance journalist. (@dadrespecter)
Nina Jankowicz, disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, a nonpartisan think tank. Author of “How To Lose the Information War.” (@wiczipedia)
Miles Taylor, advisor to the Republican Political Alliance for Integrity and Reform (REPAIR), a group of former U.S. officials, advisors and conservatives calling for leadership change in the White House. He served at the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019, including as chief of staff. (@MilesTaylorUSA)
From The Reading List
NBC News: “FBI agent who helped launch Russia investigation says Trump was ‘compromised’” — “He was the FBI agent so central to the Trump-Russia investigation that he came up with the code name: Crossfire Hurricane, from the lyrics of a Rolling Stones song that happened to be in his head.”
The Guardian: “I’m a freelance writer. A Russian media operation targeted and used me” — “On 8 July, I was contacted via direct message on Twitter by a man who introduced himself as an associate editor for PeaceData.”
New York Times: “Russians Again Targeting Americans With Disinformation, Facebook and Twitter Say” — “The Russian group that interfered in the 2016 presidential election is at it again, using a network of fake accounts and a website set up to look like a left-wing news site, Facebook and Twitter said on Tuesday.”
Politico: “How an Anti-Trump Flash Mob Found Itself in the Middle of Russian Meddling” — “On October 19, 2018, a criminal complaint in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election was unsealed.”
Wired: “Facebook’s ‘Kill Switch’ Solves the Wrong Problem” — “If the election is disputed, the company may shut down all political advertising. Meanwhile, more harmful vectors of misinformation continue to spread.”
New York Times: “A Freelance Writer Learns He Was Working for the Russians” — “Colin Munro Wood was not shocked when he learned that federal investigators believed the new website he had been writing for was a facade for a Russian troll operation looking to sway Americans ahead of the November election.”
Washington Post: “The Cybersecurity 202: Ex-DHS official Miles Taylor says Trump is a threat to election security” — “Miles Taylor, a former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff, says President Trump’s disinterest in election security and unwillingness to take a tough stand against Russia have made the November election more vulnerable to hacking and disinformation attacks.”
Politico: “Trump blows past the intelligence to accuse China of backing Biden” — “Officials who have seen the underlying intel say the president and his allies are misrepresenting what it says.”
ABC News: “DHS withheld July intelligence bulletin calling out Russian attack on Biden’s mental health” — “The Trump campaign has repeatedly engaged in a similar line of attack.”
Wired: “The Trump Administration Continues to Erode Election Security” — “The DHS, the DOJ, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have all had recent controversies that bode poorly for electoral integrity.”
Vox: “The new guilty plea in John Durham’s investigation, explained” — “Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith admitted to altering the text of an email. Why’d he do it?”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org. [Copyright 2020 NPR]
