U.S. intelligence finds Russia and Iran sought to influence 2020 election, but China did not
16 March 2021
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday released a declassified report on foreign actors' attempts to influence and interfere in the 2020 election.
The big picture: The U.S. intelligence community found that Russia and Iran conducted influence operations aimed at affecting the outcome of the election, but that China did not. The report also found no indications that foreign actors attempted to alter any technical aspect of the voting process.
Russia: The U.S. intelligence community assessed that Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized influence operations aimed at denigrating President Biden's candidacy, supporting former President Trump, undermining public confidence in the election and sowing divisions.
- Unlike in 2016, U.S. intelligence did not observe persistent Russian efforts to gain access to election infrastructure.
- A key element of the Kremlin's strategy was directing Russian proxies, including sanctioned Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Derkach, to "use prominent U.S. persons and media conduits to launder their narratives to U.S. officials and audiences" — including some close to Trump.
- The report assesses that Putin "had purview over" Derkach's activities, which included meeting with Rudy Giuliani to discuss Biden and his son Hunter's dealings in Ukraine.
China: The report assesses that Beijing "did not deploy interference efforts and considered but did not deploy influence efforts" intended to change the outcome of the election.
- "China sought stability in its relationship with the United States, did not view either election outcome as being advantageous enough for China to risk getting caught meddling, and assessed its traditional influence tools — primarily targeted economic measures and lobbying — would be sufficient to meet its goal of shaping U.S.-China policy regardless of the winner."
- The assessment contradicts pre-election statements from the Trump administration, which frequently sought to paint China as the greater threat to U.S. elections.
Iran: The report assessed that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini authorized a "multi-pronged covert influence campaign" aimed at damaging Trump's election prospects and undermining confidence in the election.