Stop Adversaries Meddling in American Elections Act

Bill: 118-s-5365
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK]
Introduced: 2024-11-21
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2024-11-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 5365 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 21, 2024 Mr. Sullivan introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To require the President to notify Congress and take certain actions in response to any attempt by a country of concern to affect United States elections.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Stop Adversaries Meddling in American Elections Act . 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) On November 8, 2024, the Department of Justice unsealed a charge involving an Iranian plot to kill President-elect Donald Trump in the leadup to the election. A criminal complaint filed in Federal court in Manhattan alleges that an unnamed official in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard instructed a contact to put together a plan to surveil and ultimately kill Donald J. Trump. (2) On November 5, 2024, the New York Times reported that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and intelligence agencies issued a warning that adversaries, led by Russia, were conducting additional influence operations. Central Intelligence Agency officials called out a video circulating on November 5 that falsely claimed the spy agency had uncovered cases of fraud in which dead people had voted. Another disinformation campaign targeted the Federal Bureau of Investigation , prompting the Bureau to say its name and logo were being used to spread election falsehoods. (3) On November 5, 2024, Reuters reported that according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, hoax bomb threats, many of which appeared to originate from Russian e-mail domains, were directed on Tuesday at polling locations in 5 battleground States, including Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, as election day voting was underway. (4) On November 1, 2024, the New York Times reported United States intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia was behind 2 new fabricated videos that appeared on social media this week falsely claiming that Haitians illegally voted in Georgia and that Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband received a $500,000 bribe from the performer Sean Combs. (5) On November 2, 2024, the Washington Post reported that the China-linked hack of at least 3 major United States telecommunications providers targeted high-level figures in the presidential campaign. Officials have said that information related to Federal requests for wiretaps was targeted, as well as telephones used by former President Donald Trump, Senator JD Vance, campaign workers in both the Kamala Harris and Trump campaigns, and members of President Trump’s family. It is being reported as the first time Beijing is known to have targeted presidential election candidates directly. (6) On October 29, 2024, the New York Times reported Disinformation from abroad—particularly from Russia, China and Iran—has matured into a consistent and pernicious threat . They note the following 5 key trends: (A) A broad expansion of disinformation across a multiplicity of social media outlets. (B) The content is far more targeted to specific demographics. (C) Artificial intelligence is propelling this evolution. (D) It is becoming much harder to identify disinformation. (E) Technology companies are not doing as much to stop disinformation. (7) On October 25, 2024, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a statement indicating Russian actors manufactured and amplified a recent viral video that falsely showed a person tearing up ballots in Pennsylvania. They added this Russian activity is part of Moscow’s broader effort to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the US election and stoke divisions among Americans, the agencies said in a statement. (8) On October 25, 2024, investigators on background told United States media The Chinese hackers who burrowed into the networks of U.S. telecommunications firms have used their deep access to target the phones of former President Donald Trump, his running mate, JD Vance, and people affiliated with Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, according to people familiar with the matter. (9) Separately on October 25, 2024, the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed it was investigating unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by Chinese actors. The statement was the first formal acknowledgment by the United States Government about the massive breach. After the Federal Bureau of Investigation identified specific malicious activity targeting the sector, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a statement and notified affected companies, rendered technical assistance, and rapidly shared information to assist other potential victims. (10) An October 23, 2024, Microsoft Threat Analysis Center report revealed Chinese influence operations targeted a handful of Republican candidates and congressional members who advocate for anti-Chinese policies. (11) On October 22, 2024, United States intelligence officials on Tuesday said Russians seeking to disrupt the United States elections created a faked video and other material smearing Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz with abuse allegations and are considering fomenting violence during and after the vote. (12) On September 25, 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported that hackers linked to the Chinese government have broken into a handful of United States internet-service providers in recent months in pursuit of sensitive information, according to people familiar with the matter. The hacking campaign, called Salt Typhoon by investigators, hasn’t previously been publicly disclosed and is the latest in a series of incursions that United States investigators have linked to China in recent years. (13) A September 2024 Office of the Director of National Intelligence conference call about foreign election interference efforts stated propagandists in China, Iran, and Russia are using artificial intelligence to create content designed to deceive Americans about the presidential election. (14) In April 2024, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told CNN that China was attempting to influence and interfere in the United States election despite President Xi previously giving assurances to President Biden that it would not do so. (15) In an April 2024, New York Times article, United States officials claimed covert Chinese accounts are promoting conspiracy theories, stoking domestic divisions, and attacking President Biden ahead of the election in November, according to researchers and government officials. (16) Researchers at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue connected China’s online interference to a long-running network of accounts connected with the Chinese government known as Spamouflage. (17) An October 2024 Office of the Director of National Intelligence report warned that the United States intelligence community expected foreign influence actors to … call into question the validity of the election’s results after the polls close. (18) The October 2024 Office of the Director of National Intelligence report stated that foreign actors are almost certainly considering the possibility of another contested presidential election and a tight contest for control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. (19) The October 2024 Office of the Director of National Intelligence report stated that foreign actors will likely take advantage of such an opportunity to use similar tactics in a post-election period to undermine trust in the integrity of the election, election processes, and further exacerbate divisions among Americans. (20) An October 2024 New York Times article quoted a Biden administration official who stated foreign powers realize … they can spread messages that suggest the process was flawed. Officials said they called such efforts “perception hacking . (21) A February 2024 Office of the Director of National Intelligence Threat Assessment states: The PRC aims to sow doubts about U.S. leadership, undermine democracy, and extend Beijing’s influence … due to its desire to sideline critics of China and magnify U.S. societal divisions. PRC actors have increased their capabilities to conduct covert influence operations and disseminate disinformation. (22) A December 2022 National Intelligence Council report states China tacitly approved efforts to try to influence a handful of 2022 midterm races involving members of both U.S. political parties.” The assessment adds with high confidence that China’s goals are to counter U.S. politicians viewed as anti-China and to support others viewed as pro-China. (23) Cybersecurity firm Mandiant alleged Chinese interference in the 2022 United States midterm elections via DRAGONBRIDGE, an influence campaign assessed to be operating in support of the political interests of the People’s Republic of China. (24) A November 2023 memo by the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party outlines China’s united front work, described as a unique blend of engagement, influence activities, and intelligence operations that the CCP uses to shape its political environment, including to influence other countries’ policy toward the PRC and to gain access to advanced foreign technology. (25) In April 2023, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York charged 44 Chinese nationals for conducting online disinformation campaigns that promoted PRC propaganda and for attempting to intimidate and silence PRC critics. (26) An October 2024 Office of the Director of National Intelligence report states Russia is leveraging a wide range of influence actors in an effort to influence congressional races and in particular to encourage the U.S. public to oppose pro-Ukraine policies and politicians. (27) In September 2024, the Biden administration announced a broad effort to counter Russia’s influence campaigns in the 2024 election, including through sanctions, indictments, and seizing of web domains that United States officials say the Kremlin uses to spread propaganda and disinformation. (28) A nearly 300-page FBI affidavit lays out a broad, Kremlin-backed effort to seed fake news stories to attack United States politicians supporting Ukraine in the war against Russia and stoke tensions in United States society. (29) In September 2024, the State Department announced forthcoming designations of 5 Russian state-funded news outlets, including RT, Ruptly and Sputnik, as foreign government missions and restrict the issuance of visas to people working for Kremlin-supported media institutions. (30) In a September 2024 report, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies identified 19 websites that Iran has used to spread disinformation through what appear to be American and foreign news outlets. (31) In August 2024, the FBI and United States intelligence agencies stated the Iranian government was behind a hack and leak operation targeting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and also attempted to target the Biden-Harris campaign. (32) The dictators running these countries of concern would never stand for free, fair, and open elections themselves because they fear their own people and prioritize their power over them above all else. 3. Requiring the President to notify Congress and take certain actions in response to any attempt by a country of concern to affect United States elections (a) In general If the President determines that the government, or an individual acting on behalf of the government, of a country of concern is attempting to affect the outcome of any Federal, State, or local election through the dissemination of disinformation, the President shall— (1) not later than 30 days after making such determination, notify the appropriate committees of Congress of— (A) such attempt; and (B) any actions the President intends to take under paragraph (2), including any waiver of the disclosure of information described in such paragraph under subsection (b); and (2) subject to subsections (b) and (c), take action, including through international media and media available in the country of concern in question, or through any other means available to the United States, to reveal any information the United States Government has in its possession relating to any unexplained wealth, corruption, or malfeasance of any senior official of the government in question, their family members, or the political party or parties which govern it, to as many of the citizens as possible in such country of concern. (b) Waiver of disclosure The President may waive the disclosure of information under subsection (a)(2) if the President determines that the disclosure of such information would be detrimental to the national interest. In the case where the President waives such disclosure, the President shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress an explanation of why the disclosure of such information would be detrimental to the national interest. (c) Treatment of classified information The release or disclosure of classified information under subsection (a)(2) shall be subject to the standards and procedures established under Executive Order 13526 ( 50 U.S.C. 3161 note; relating to classified national security information). (d) Definitions In this section: (1) Appropriate committees of congress The term appropriate committees of Congress means— (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; (B) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and (D) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives. (2) Country of concern The term country of concern has the meaning given to the term covered nation in section 4872(d)(2) of title 10, United States Code. (3) Disinformation The term disinformation means any false information or depiction that is deliberately meant to mislead.