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.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.