Trump releases declassified files alleging Chinese election interference

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has ordered the release of a sweeping collection of intelligence and law-enforcement records that he said expose Chinese acquisition of American voter data, foreign interference risks and serious weaknesses in the United States election system.

 “Tonight, I’m announcing the immediate declassification and release of critical intelligence, revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure,” Trump said in a nationally televised address on Thursday night.

Trump said the documents had been assembled by the White House Government Transparency Task Force and reviewed with support from the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board and senior intelligence officials.

He said the first group of records showed that China had acquired 220 million US voter files containing names, addresses, telephone numbers, political affiliations and other information that could be used in election-related operations.

A separate White House task force statement said more than 200 million voter records without state-specific affiliations had been compromised, while records connected to at least 18 states were also affected. The statement publicly identified 16 jurisdictions, including Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina and Ohio.

Trump accused officials within the intelligence community of suppressing information about China’s activities and said the intelligence was not provided to him during his first term.

He asked the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Justice Department, the FBI and the CIA to investigate why the information was allegedly withheld. He also called for officials involved in any wrongdoing to be dismissed and prosecuted where appropriate.

The released records include reports alleging that China sought to weaken Trump politically, influence American business leaders and journalists, and exploit racial, economic, immigration and partisan divisions in the United States.

Trump also highlighted FBI records concerning a Michigan investigation into allegedly fraudulent voter-registration applications. Those records document witness allegations, database checks and a federal investigation that continued for several years. Prosecutors ultimately declined to bring charges, and the FBI later closed the case after saying investigators had not established a prosecutable federal violation.

The President said his administration would notify governors, lawmakers and state officials about vulnerabilities identified in their jurisdictions. He also urged Congress to pass legislation requiring photo identification and proof of citizenship for voting, while sharply limiting mail ballots. (IANS)

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