Securing Democracy Dispatch

President Trump signs Executive Order on investigating and imposing sanctions for election interference: On September 12, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) to clarify and streamline the process of detecting and sanctioning foreign entities interfering in U.S. elections. The EO broadly defines foreign interference as attempts to influence, undermine confidence in, or alter the result or reported result of a U.S. election. The EO mandates a report from the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on whether foreign interference occurred or was attempted during an election, followed by a second report from the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security assessing the effect of that interference on election infrastructure and on targeted U.S. political organizations. A finding of interference in the reports would trigger a recommendation from the Departments of Treasury and State to the President with respect to discretionary imposition of sanctions, selected from a broad menu of options, against the interfering country. The menu ranges from more limited to aggressive targeting options. Separately, the EO provides the authority to block the assets of any foreign person that Treasury determines interfered in the election, although this determination is not linked explicitly to the DNI report. In a statement at the time of the signing, the President explained that, in the event of foreign meddling, “the Executive Order ensures a quick, forceful, and proportionate response.” Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) welcomed the EO as a step toward protecting U.S. elections from Russia and other countries. However, there was bipartisan criticism of the EO. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) said the EO is insufficient because it “inevitably leaves the President broad discretion to decide whether to impose tough sanctions against those who attack our democracy,” while Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), argued that the order “recognizes the threat, but does not go far enough to address it.” Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) stated, “It is outrageous that it has taken 21 months for President Trump to begin to respond to the Kremlin’s interference in our democracy,” and added that the EO does not preclude “the urgent need for legislation that increases sanctions pressure on the Kremlin for its destabilization of democracies here and around the world.” Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), co-sponsor of the bipartisan DETER Act, argued that, “This executive order is aimed more at deterring congressional action on the DETER Act than on deterring Putin’s interference in our election.” ASD’s Laura Rosenberger commented that the EO has good value in clearly defining unacceptable behavior by foreign powers and generating useful and thorough reports, but its power would be strengthened by consistent messaging from the White House on election interference and by making the generated reports public. (White House, The Hill, Politico, Senate.gov, Twitter, The Washington Post, The Economist)

EU proposes new measures and recommendations to secure free and fair elections: On September 12, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker used the annual State of the Union address to propose new measures to secure free and fair elections in the EU ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections in May. The new recommendations call for coordinated networks to track disinformation, cybersecurity, and threats to election infrastructure, as well as for increased transparency in political advertising. However, as noted in a tweet by the Alliance for Securing Democracy, the new measures could go further: “What has the European Commission missed in its new measures to counter election interference? More transparency in election funding overall. Influence comes not only in the form of words but also in euros.” (European Commission, Twitter)

Europe and the United States crack down on Russian money laundering: Danske Bank, Denmark’s largest bank, is reportedly the subject of a probe by U.S. law enforcement following allegations of long-term Russian money laundering operations through its Estonian branch. The bank’s chief executive received multiple warnings to cease business that may have facilitated money laundering from the Russia/Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, including from JPMorgan (which held a correspondent account for Danske’s Estonian branch) and other Danske executives. The U.K. is simultaneously heightening anti-money laundering efforts, such as “unexplained wealth orders,” as the National Crime Agency focuses on an influx of nearly 90 billion pounds of “dirty money” into London annually. And the Netherlands imposed a fine of approximately $900 million on ING Bank in the largest money laundering penalty on a European Union financial institution in EU history. For its part, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker proposed increasing the European Banking Authority’s power to combat money laundering in Europe. As ASD’s Joshua Kirschenbaum wrote, “Even a centralized, coordinated, and well-resourced AML effort will fail if the consequence of being caught is a slap on the wrist. The Dutch fine signals European recognition of the importance not just of rules, but of deterrence.”

Google’s dealings with China prompt bipartisan outcry: A bipartisan group of 16 lawmakers penned a letter to Google on September 13 inquiring about rumors that the company is working on a censored search engine for the Chinese government. Details on Google’s plans spurred the lawmakers to call the move “an alarming capitulation by Google on human rights.” If the deal goes through, content blacklisted by the Chinese government will be unavailable on Google services, the government will have complete access to users’ personal data, and the company may be required to block data vital to users’ health and safety if it fails to portray the government positively. Furthermore, as Suzanne Nossel of Foreign Policy points out, “If Google is willing to play along with China, governments in Russia, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, and elsewhere will have little reason not to fortify their own measures to control content and opinion.” Meanwhile, the announcement of a new partnership between Russian tech firm Mail.RU and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba marked a new high-profile economic partnership between two countries known for their restrictions on Internet freedom. (Reuters, Foreign Policy, Wall Street Journal)

Facebook unveils a new strategy to combat election meddling, but experts remain skeptical: Facebook announced it will begin using a combination of algorithms and human reviewers to fact-check photos and videos posted to its platform. These new measures will target images and videos that have been deliberately altered or decontextualized, such as the photos that were used by the Internet Research Agency to bypass Facebook’s moderation during the 2016 elections. Experts predict that sophisticated image manipulation techniques, which are difficult to distinguish from reality, are a new frontier for misinformation campaigns. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg published an overview of the measures his company will take aimed at “defending against election interference, better protecting our community from abuse, and making sure people have more control of their information.” Measures include removing fake accounts, expanding its fact-checking capacity, requiring transparency from advertisers, facilitating coordination with governments, and inviting independent researchers to examine Facebook’s data. The Verge’s Casey Newton noted that Zuckerberg’s statements contained little new information on substance, but instead presented previously announced measures in a positive light. (The Wall Street Journal, Axios, Facebook, The Verge, Quartz)

Lawmakers, experts express concern the United States is ill-equipped to combat cyber threats: Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Rand Paul (R-KY) wrote a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticizing the Department for “failing to meet basic federal cybersecurity standards,” and called for “more secure authentication mechanisms” to protect employees from the types of phishing attacks that Russian hackers have used to target political campaigns. Cybersecurity experts issued similar warnings at the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) hearing on “Evolving Threats to the Homeland.” FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia told Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) that the United States needs a “doctrine” with clear lines for unacceptable behavior in order to deter cyberattacks below the level of armed conflict, which Mandia called “cyber trench warfare.” HSGAC Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) said in his opening statement, “We’ve been sitting here admiring these problems and just not effectively addressing them.” (Senate.gov, HSGAC, Express)

European Parliament invokes Article 7 against Hungary: The EU Parliament voted on September 12 to invoke Article 7 of the EU constitution against the government of Hungary for its attacks on democratic institutions and for its failure to uphold the fundamental values of the EU. Article 7, which is intended to ensure EU member states uphold fundamental values defined as “liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law,” could lead to sanctions and a temporary loss of voting rights in the EU Parliament. However, the vote does not impose immediate penalties, and the Polish foreign ministry has promised to veto any punitive measures levied against Hungary. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has been accused of attacks on press freedom, independent courts, and minority rights, responded that the vote unfairly punishes Hungary for pursuing traditional, Christian values in its domestic policies. The motion to censure the Hungarian government divided the center-right European People’s Party (EPP), whose leadership broke with conservative constituents to support triggering Article 7. Debate over the measure also reveals deep divisions within the EU between supporters of democratic values and a developing coalition of governments that reject European norms. The German Marshall Fund’s Daniel Hegedüs noted that even if the EU’s decision did not result in direct consequences, it was an important step toward addressing authoritarianism among EU members. (Deutsche Welle, Politico, The Washington Post, Express, BBC, EU Observer, GMFUS)

ASD Director Laura Rosenberger and Co-Director Jamie Fly joined the McCain Institute’s “In the Arena” podcast to discuss ASD’s recent Policy Blueprint for Countering Authoritarian Interference in Democracies, which presents a whole-of-government and whole-of-society set of recommendations for creating resilience to foreign interference. They also discussed the United States’ vulnerability to cyber threats, and emphasized that since part of Putin’s strategy is to divide Americans from one another, one of the most important things that we can do to counter is to stand together in the face of it.

ASD’s Joshua Kirschenbaum published a new blog post in which he argues for stronger money laundering penalties in the EU: “As technical AML violations may facilitate more potent threats — including corruption, kleptocracy, organized criminal activity, and even foreign political interference — the effectiveness of one’s AML regime, and of the deterrence embedded within it, is about more than the integrity of the financial system. It is, ultimately, about national security.”

Accounts tracked by the Hamilton 68 Dashboard focused on a range of topics last week. Early in the week, chatter centered on criticisms and conspiracy theories surrounding Barack Obama in response to the former president’s criticism of Donald Trump. Top URLs shared on the dashboard described Obama as the worst president in history and claimed that Michelle Obama was secretly dating Bruce Springsteen. Later in the week, accounts transitioned to focus on the conflict in Syria. In line with an ongoing Kremlin disinformation campaign, the accounts promoted theories that Western-backed actors are planning to fake a chemical attack in Idlib province, and accused Western media of working with terrorists.

“While we have seen no attempt that matches the scale of that which we saw in 2016, the threats against our election systems are real and evolving. It is incumbent on all of us to work together to continue to increase the security and resilience of the process.”

–Kirstjen Nielsen, U.S. Secretary for Homeland Security, September 10, 2018 

After U.K. authorities levied charges for the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal against two Russian intelligence officers (operating under aliases), RT’s editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, interviewed two men resembling the suspects in an attempt to dispute the charges. During the interview, which lasted for over 25 minutes, the men nervously claimed that they were visiting Salisbury as tourists, and that they only ended up in the vicinity of the Skripal house by accident. After the interview, Simonyan took to Twitter to speculate on the men’s sexual orientation — she claimed that they may be gay as they dressed in stylish clothes and neglected to flirt with her.

The views expressed in GMF publications and commentary are the views of the author alone.