Trump Announces Declassification of Intelligence Documents and Accuses China of Interfering in US Elections
US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday the declassification of intelligence documents that he said revealed what he described as the largest Chinese hack of voter data in US history, accusing officials within the intelligence community of concealing the information and directing the Department of Justice and security agencies to open investigations into the matter.
In a prime-time address to the nation from the White House, Trump said the documents “show that over the years, starting with the 2020 election cycle, the People’s Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest election data breach in history, resulting in the illegal acquisition of files belonging to 220 million American voters.”
He added that the documents “reveal that members within what is called the deep state in the intelligence community worked to downplay and cover up Chinese interference, hiding this information from the president and the American people.”
He noted that “US agencies learned in 2020 that data on tens of millions of voters in 18 states had been purchased, stolen, or hacked by China, but officials kept this information secret and did not report it to Congress.”
He clarified that “Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports indicated that since 2018, the Chinese Communist Party adopted a policy aimed at using all domestic and external elements opposing then-President Trump to reduce votes in his favor and prevent his re-election.”
Trump revealed that he had requested the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the CIA to investigate “how and why this important information was concealed, to identify everyone involved in the cover-up, and to bring criminal charges against them if appropriate.”
Trump’s remarks come as part of a broader campaign led by his administration to push for new regulations in the country’s electoral system, including proof of citizenship requirements for voting and enhanced security for election infrastructure, as the midterm elections scheduled for November approach.
