President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday authorising sanctions against foreigners who meddle in U.S. elections, acting amid criticism that he has not taken election security seriously enough.
“We felt it was important to demonstrate the president has taken command of this issue, that it’s something he cares deeply about — that the integrity of our elections and our constitutional process are a high priority to him,” said national security adviser John Bolton.
The order calls for sanctioning any individual, company or country that interferes with campaign infrastructure or distributes disinformation and propaganda interfering with U.S. elections, Bolton told reporters according to a report by the Associated Press.
It requires the national intelligence director to make regular assessments about foreign interference and asks the Homeland Security and Justice departments to submit reports on meddling in campaign-related infrastructure.
It also lays out how the Treasury and State departments will recommend what sanctions to impose.
With the midterm elections now two months away, National Intelligence Director Dan Coats said the U.S. is not currently seeing the intensity of Russian intervention that was experienced in 2016, but he did not rule it out.
