Overview of the Process for the 

Executive Branch to Notify the Public 

and Others Regarding Foreign Malign 

Influence and Interference Operations 

Targeting U.S. Elections

The Federal Government is committed to protecting our 

democratic processes, institutions, economy, and the 

American public from foreign malign influence. Of 

particular concern are the intentions and activities of 

foreign governments, persons acting on their behalf, or 

independent foreign non-state actors to covertly, 

coercively, or unlawfully influence or interfere in our 

elections. 

The Executive Branch maintains a notification framework to 

ensure that foreign intelligence regarding foreign malign 

influence and interference operations targeting U.S. elections is 

shared appropriately with government officials, the private 

sector, and the public to protect U.S. national security, including 

the integrity of our election processes. 

Public exposure and attribution of foreign election influence and 

interference can render these operations less effective. Nonpublic notifications to targets of election influence and 

interference, including both individuals and organizations, may 

also mitigate the impacts of these operations by providing 

accurate and reliable information and by enhancing resilience 

against future attempts. 

Under the notification framework, the Executive Branch follows 

an Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)-led 

process adhering to defined principles and factors to ensure, to 

the greatest extent possible, that notification decisions are 

consistent, well-informed, unbiased, and appropriately 

coordinated across the Executive Branch. 

The notification framework supplements existing laws 

and policies for victim notifications and notifications to 

owners and operators of targeted critical infrastructure, 

including state and local election officials. Notifications 

conducted under these existing processes are provided by the 

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS) under established policies that govern 

notifications to victims of crime (including computer intrusions 

or other criminal activity directly harming a political organization 

or campaign) and to owners and operators of critical 

infrastructure (including state and local election officials) that are 

targets of a cyber threat. 

The Executive Branch relies on guiding principles when 

considering whether to provide notifications under this 

framework. These principles include: 

• Notification decisions shall serve U.S. national security 

interests, consistent with the responsibility to protect the 

American people and to uphold the Constitution. 

• Partisan politics shall not play a role in the decision to provide 

notifications. 

• Notification decisions shall not be intended to censor or chill 

political and social discourse or other First Amendmentprotected activities. 

• Notification decisions shall be intended to support broader 

Federal Government efforts to protect U.S. democratic 

institutions and processes, including elections, and to counter 

foreign malign influence. 

In addition to the principles described above, the Executive 

Branch considers several factors in determining whether to 

provide a notification. These factors include protection of sources 

and methods, the specificity of the information regarding the 

foreign malign influence or interference operation, and whether 

notification is reasonably expected to render the operation less 

effective. 

The following process ensures that notification 

decisions are thoroughly informed: 

• When relevant foreign intelligence is identified, the ODNI will 

convene a Credibility Assessment Group (CAG), comprised of 

experts from different intelligence community (IC) agencies, to 

conduct a credibility assessment of the intelligence. 

• When appropriate, the ODNI will provide the CAG assessment 

to an Experts Group comprised of senior representatives of the 

IC elements within the CAG and the Departments of Defense, 

Justice, Treasury, and Homeland Security, which will evaluate 

whether a public or non-public notification is appropriate 

under the notification framework. 

• When the Experts Group recommends a non-public 

notification, the FBI and/or DHS will provide the notification. 

• When the Experts Group recommends a public notification, the 

Director of National Intelligence will convene a Leaders Group 

comprised of the Secretaries of State, Defense, Homeland 

Security, and the Treasury, the Attorney General, and the 

Directors of the Central Intelligence Agency, FBI, Cybersecurity 

and Infrastructure Security Agency, and National Security 

Agency, to determine if a public notification is appropriate, the 

nature of the notification, and the notifying agency.