Trump to reportedly allow sanctions against suspected election meddlers


President Trump is likely to okay sanctions against foreign people or companies who may have interfered in U.S. elections, officials tell Reuters. He may sign the executive order as early as Wednesday, provided Hurricane Florence doesn't impede the process, The New York Times reports.
The threat of foreign interference in American elections came to a head during the 2016 election, particularly when emails from Hillary Clinton and Democratic National Committee were leaked; Russian intelligence officers were later indicted for the crime. Russian hackers have again tried to breach several candidates, think tanks, and even the U.S. Senate in the run-up to the 2018 midterms. Still, Trump has tended to brush off potential Russian threats, going so far as to call anything that happened in 2016 a "hoax."
With this order, it looks like Trump is changing course. The document requires any federal agency that suspects election interference to notify National Intelligence Director Dan Coats, an official who's seen a draft told Reuters. "Interference" includes any attempts to hack election systems or influence how people vote.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The U.S. still has Russia under heavy sanctions for annexing Crimea and past election meddling, and officials "played down how effective sanctions might be against election meddling," per the Times. Still, one official said the move shows just how serious Trump is about protecting American elections.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
September 4 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Thursday’s political cartoons include Donald Trump hiding in the Oval Office and Jeffrey Epstein survivors
-
The Great Art Fraud: a 'riveting' tale of a disgraced art dealer
The Week Recommends BBC2 documentary explores extraordinary story of 'class-A grifter' charged with fraud
-
The Roses: Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch star in black comedy reboot
The Week Recommends 'Acidly enjoyable' remake of the 1980s classic features a warring couple and toxic love
-
US kills 11 on 'drug-carrying boat' off Venezuela
Speed Read Trump claimed those killed in the strike were 'positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists' shipping drugs to the US
-
Trump vows to send federal forces to Chicago, Baltimore
Speed Read The announcement followed a California judge ruling that Trump's LA troop deployment was illegal
-
Trump crypto token launch earns family billions
Speed Read The World Liberty Financial token is now the Trump family's 'most valuable asset'
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revolt
Speed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodus
Speed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges