Democrat lawmakers say Russia is aiming to undermine party ahead of midterms

The Russian government is attempting to harm the Democratic Party and erode voter confidence ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, continuing a decade-long trend, according to two senior congressional lawmakers.

A classified U.S. intelligence community assessment, which was shared with Congress in recent days, also found China is again engaging in targeted influence efforts, as are other foreign powers like Iran and North Korea, according to Rep. Jim Himes (CT), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

“The Russians are kind of throwing everything out there — chaos, don't trust your institutions, voting machines,” he told reporters on Wednesday during a roundtable discussion on Capitol Hill. “They're throwing everything out there to generate a sense of chaos and anarchy.”

Mark Warner (D-VA), the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, noted that “every election cycle since 2016, Russia has spread disinformation” to undermine Democrats. “That’s just a factual basis.”

Both lawmakers hedged at how explicit the Kremlin’s actions have been, though they suggested that U.S. support for Ukraine is being used as a wedge issue, similar to the 2022 midterms. The pair stressed the latest update showed no country is pursuing the technically challenging effort to interfere with or hack into the country’s election infrastructure or tamper directly with votes.

“Nothing out there suggests that there is either the capability or the intent to do interference, whereas there is a pretty robust influence environment,” Himes said.

The findings come amid rising concerns from Democrats at the state and federal level that President Donald Trump will seek to exploit misinformation and conspiracy theories before, during and after Election Day. Republicans are expected to take losses in key races and potentially lose control of both chambers of Congress to Democrats.

Such fears have persisted ever since Trump refused to accept his loss in the 2020 presidential election. Upon returning to the Oval Office, he warned that the country’s election systems are vulnerable to foreign meddling, sent federal agents to scour state voter rolls and installed election deniers in Cabinet-level positions.

The longstanding and increasingly aggressive attacks on voting systems have many election officials and Democrats afraid that the administration is laying the groundwork to challenge the election’s validity in November.

“We are making the assumption that all the stops will be pulled out,” Himes told reporters.

To that end, the two lawmakers are assuming Trump will not accept the election’s results if it is not in his favor, and have wargamed a variety of scenarios, including the president seizing on an isolated, or possibly fabricated, piece of intelligence to blocking the seating of the new Congress in January.

In addition, Warner and Himes said they have sought assurances from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and CIA Director John Ratcliffe to be available on Election Day if the commander-in-chief makes unsubstantiated claims on social media or elsewhere. 

While such possible conversations might involve classified information, Himes noted, he could at least go on television to say there has been no briefing or information to suggest the accusations are accurate.

“Now, does that end the crisis? No, but that's the first step.”

The Connecticut lawmaker said his panel would receive another election security briefing next week, one arranged by panel chairman Rick Crawford (R-AR). 

Warner said his committee would push for a similar closed-door session.