Washington: President Donald Trump accused China of orchestrating a wide-ranging campaign to interfere in US elections, alleging that Beijing sought to undermine his presidency, acquire millions of American voter records and conceal its activities through what he described as a cover-up inside the US intelligence community.
In a nationally televised address from the White House, Trump announced what he called the immediate declassification of intelligence records relating to election security, saying the documents revealed “shocking vulnerabilities” in America’s election infrastructure and detailed years of alleged Chinese efforts to influence US politics.
“The People’s Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China’s illicit acquisition of 220 million US voter files,” Trump said.
He said the records showed the data included names, addresses, telephone numbers, political party preferences and other information that could be used “to register to vote and engage in other nefarious activities.”
Trump alleged that US intelligence agencies first became aware in 2020 that “tens of millions” of voter records in 18 states had been “bought, stolen or hacked by China” but failed to disclose the information to him as president or to Congress.
“They did not disclose to me as President or to anyone else and, to the best of our knowledge, they did not inform Congress,” he said.
The President also cited what he described as newly declassified CIA reporting alleging that Beijing had sought to influence both the 2018 US midterm elections and the 2020 presidential race.
According to Trump, one intelligence report stated that “the Chinese Communist Party’s policy was to leverage all domestic and foreign elements that were opposed to the US President in an effort to reduce the US President’s votes and make him resign or prevent his re-election.”
He further claimed that another intelligence assessment concluded China’s strategy was aimed at “undermining domestic confidence in the US President.”
Trump said the intelligence also alleged that Beijing attempted to use contacts with major American companies to persuade business leaders to oppose his administration.
He further claimed the records said the Chinese government sought to identify US journalists who had written critically about him and pay them to produce additional negative reports.
“The Chinese government wanted US President to lose the next election,” Trump said, arguing that Beijing opposed his administration’s tariffs on Chinese goods and its national security policies.
The President also alleged that raw FBI intelligence from 2020 indicated Chinese activities included “an attempt to manufacture illegal ballots for Joe Biden.”
He claimed dozens of CIA and National Security Agency reports concerning China’s alleged election activities were withheld from his daily intelligence briefings.
Trump alleged that one internal intelligence email acknowledged officials had “deliberately massaged the Presidential Daily Briefing to withhold information regarding Chinese activities related to the election.”
He said he had directed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Justice Department, the FBI and the CIA to investigate why the information was allegedly withheld and to determine whether criminal charges were warranted against those involved.
The President said the declassified records would be made publicly available through the White House website. He said the purpose of releasing the material was “not to weaken confidence in election, but to earn that confidence by confronting vulnerabilities and correcting them very, very quickly.”
(IANS)
