HARTFORD—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill on Thursday held a press briefing in Hartford to discuss the threat foreign interference poses to our elections and what Connecticut is doing in partnership with the federal government to strengthen the state’s cyber defenses and secure our elections. This comes after Merrill and the Connecticut congressional delegation announced that Connecticut would receive $5.4 million to enhance the safety of in-person voting in polling places, expand vote at home, mail-in voting, and protect the security and integrity of the election and the counting of ballots.

On the interference of Russia in the 2016 and 2020 elections, Murphy said: “There is no doubt that the Russian government intends to try to rig the 2020 election just as they interfered in the 2016 election. I am very worried that this administration is not taking seriously the threat of Russian interference. And I'm beginning to be more and more worried that this White House is intentionally looking the other way because it knows that the Russian government is ultimately looking to reelect this president.”

Murphy also raised alarms about the administration purposefully conflating Russian election interference with potential efforts by other foreign adversaries like China or Iran: “…[I]t's far from certain whether the Chinese and the Iranians even have the intent to impact our elections on behalf of one candidate or the other. There is only one foreign government that has the capability to interfere in our elections, and has the clear desire to weigh in on behalf of one side, and that is the Russian government.”

Murphy discussed the Russian disinformation campaigns around coronavirus as a tactic to interfere in our upcoming elections. Murphy said: “Over half of the content on Twitter today, regarding coronavirus is likely coming from foreign sources. Of the content on social media today regarding reopen America campaigns and messaging research suggests 60% to 70% of that is foreign based propaganda, most likely coming from Russia. And so it's really important that voters make sure to be careful about where their information is coming from.”

Murphy raised his serious concerns around the Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe’s announcement that congressional briefings on election interference would no longer happen: “There's no good reason not to brief Congress other than you are interested in covering something up. What's the administration hiding? Why would they stop career civil servants from being able to tell members of Congress, many of which are on the ballot this November, whether or not the Russians are increasing their interference efforts?”

On how Connecticut is protecting elections, Murphy concluded: “…[W]e've done a great job here in Connecticut, of utilizing both state resources and federal resources to make sure that our elections are as protected as possible from outside interference. And the work that Secretary Merrill has done in conjunction with our local election enforcement and administration officials allows me to tell a really positive story in Washington about why we need additional funds.”

A full transcript of Murphy’s opening remarks are below:

“Good afternoon everyone. My name is Chris Murphy. I have the honor of representing Connecticut in the United States Senate. I'm joined here by my friend and colleague Secretary of the State Denise Merrill. We are here to talk about our efforts to make sure that every voter in Connecticut gets to cast a ballot this November. And our efforts to make sure that foreign governments do not improperly interfere in the casting of those ballots, or in the election debate that we are about to enter into.

“There is no doubt that the Russian government intends to try to rig the 2020 election just as they interfered in the 2016 election. I am very worried that this administration is not taking seriously the threat of Russian interference. And I'm beginning to be more and more worried that this White House is intentionally looking the other way because it knows that the Russian government is ultimately looking to reelect this president.

“Secretary Merrill's office protects elections on behalf of every voter and every citizen of this state. Her job is to just make sure that these elections are conducted in a free and fair manner. But I also want to make sure that when voters are getting information, when they are seeking to learn things about the candidates, that they are not hearing from hidden foreign sources trying to disguise themselves as domestic actors. And so it's important for us to talk about both the physical security of people's ballots to make sure that our election processes are protected, but it's also really important for us to talk about making sure that we uncover the kind of information interference that the Russians intend to use in the coming two months.

“The White House likes to talk about the Russians and the Chinese and the Iranians all in one breath. Let's be very clear, the Chinese and the Iranians have nothing compared to what the Russians have when it comes to the capability to mess with our elections. And in fact, it's far from certain whether the Chinese and the Iranians even have the intent to impact our elections on behalf of one candidate or the other. There is only one foreign government that has the capability to interfere in our elections, and has the clear desire to weigh in on behalf of one side, and that is the Russian government.

“Right now, we see the Russians flooding Facebook and Twitter with disinformation. Over half of the content on Twitter today, regarding coronavirus is likely coming from foreign sources. Of the content on social media today regarding reopen America campaigns and messaging research suggests 60% to 70% of that is foreign based propaganda, most likely coming from Russia. And so it's really important that voters make sure to be careful about where their information is coming from.

“I have a big presence on Twitter and Facebook, but I wouldn't recommend that voters get their information about Joe Biden or Donald Trump from Twitter or Facebook. Go to a news source that you trust where you know that it's Americans that are providing the content. Now, maybe Fox News is biased one way and MSNBC is biased the other way, but at least those are Americans who are providing you with content rather than what you're finding on social media platforms today, which is often, sometimes more often than not, coming from foreign sources, most likely the Russians.

“Additionally, part of the reason why I'm incredibly worried about how serious this administration is taking Russian interference is because they just announced that they are not going to brief Congress any longer about foreign interference efforts. There's no good reason not to brief Congress other than you are interested in covering something up. What's the administration hiding? Why would they stop career civil servants from being able to tell members of Congress, many of which are on the ballot this November, whether or not the Russians are increasing their interference efforts?

“This president talked a half a dozen times with Vladimir Putin over the spring and summer. What did they talk about? Why aren't we receiving briefings about the extent of Russian interference efforts? What is attempting to be hidden from members of Congress and the American public?

“I have said this before, and I'll say it again before I turn it over to Secretary Merrill. The intelligence services have very specific information about who in the United States that’s providing content regarding the 2020 election is a Russian agent. Our intelligence services know the names of the Russian agents who are speaking on TV in the United States, who are sending information packets to members of Congress. The intelligence services should make that information public. I hope it doesn't fall on Congress to do it ourselves, but before this election reaches its final weeks, voters should know who the Russian agents are, and who they aren't when they're listening to information.

“Finally, as I turn it over to Secretary Merrill, we've done a great job here in Connecticut, of utilizing both state resources and federal resources to make sure that our elections are as protected as possible from outside interference. And the work that Secretary Merrill has done in conjunction with our local election enforcement and administration officials allows me to tell a really positive story in Washington about why we need additional funds. We're always looking for more money and more funding, but we have taken steps in this state to make sure that it will be as hard as humanly possible for the Russians or anybody else to try to manipulate the voter rolls or the operations of Election Day itself. And I want to reserve that brief for Secretary Mayer.”

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