others have gone to school and seen the success of the russian interference in 2016. and so others with different axes to grind notably iran or north korea or china as examples, are also going to participate. i am sure that a lot has been done to enhance election the security of our election apparatus in preparation for 2020. i think the fbi, department of homeland security, national security agency and others have done this, as well as the states. but you have to remember that our election process and the apparatus that supports it is very decentralized. among 50 states and local entities. so i think at that level, probably progress towards securing the voter apparatus and election apparatus is probably uneven, at best. what s missing is the
election and he it was so diffused. all members of congress and 33 senators were up for reelection. so we shouldn t beat our chest too much about relative success we had in 2016. 2020 is going to be a challenge for us. i am sure that all kinds of measures have been taken. i still worry, though, about the inconsistencies between and among the 50 states, many of whom are very jealous about their prerogatives for managing and protecting the voter apparatus. you were around in 2016 when the obama administration went to the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, and asked for a bipartisan statement about russian interference in that election. the majority leader refused. and since then in recent weeks, months, and even the last few days, has blocked legislation that would increase election security. there were bills earlier this week on the same day as mueller testimony to make it to
from republicans and people who support the president, he can t acknowledge it because but i m wondering without clear statements from the president even on something as simple as i m not going to accept foreign help on this election, with that can the u.s. incredibly defend against this kind of interference? a lot has been done, i m sure. i m sure a lot has been done by the likes of the fbi and nsa and department of homeland security, et cetera. and i think probably a lot has been done on a state-by-state basis, probably not consistent. what s missing is the galvanizing effect that can only come from the presidential bully pull pit by calling the public s attention not just to the security of the voter apparatus, voter registration rules and tabulation, but also what the russians did and others will do to manipulate social media to influence and manipulate opinion. and the president s voice is
so everyone seems to recognize the threat but is enough being done to stop it? obviously not. and i think director wray made that point. we dwell a lot on cybersecurity and the securing the voter apparatus, what concerns me more than that is the influence on people s minds on opinions, which the russians have learned to exploit as we learned fairly well and they will continue that more aggressively. i predict in 2020. yeah. the director wray spoke about the issue of deep fakes, right? which is highly advanced digital doctored media clips. you ve read about deep fakes. we ve been reading about that. is this something the average american should be worried about? absolutely. this is just yet another and in this case insidious tool that people with that have nefarious
not deterred them enough? all the sanctions, all the talk, they are still at it? well, my view is until they stop, they haven t been deterred enough. and still doing it? yes. so everyone seems to recognize the threat but is enough being done to stop it? obviously not. and i think director wray made that point. we dwell a lot on cybersecurity and the securing the voter apparatus, what concerns me more than that is the influence on people s minds on opinions, which the russians have learned to exploit as we learned fairly well and they will continue that more aggressively. i predict in 2020. yeah. the director wray spoke about the issue of deep fakes, right? which is highly advanced digital doctored media clips.