Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), like many of their colleagues, are still not satisfied with the results of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on the investigation into 2016 Russian election interference. But the two Democrats are homing in on one aspect, in particular — the FBI's response to the possible hacking of a Florida election software company.
Klobuchar and Wyden sent a joint letter to the FBI on Wednesday, Politico reports. The senators want to know more about the FBI's handling of VR Systems, a Florida-based manufacturer of voter registration software and electronic pollbooks — the company discovered that suspicious IP addresses had visited their website in 2016, spurring them to contact law enforcement, as requested. The senators asked in the letter if the FBI examined VR Systems' services for a successful cyber breach, potentially orchestrated by Russian operatives. They added that they would like an explanation if this was not the case. The company has admitted it was targeted by hackers, but has said the attempt was not successful, which has not been publicly confirmed, reports Politico.
Furthermore, the letter seeks answers as to whether the FBI examined VR Systems' electronic pollbooks that malfunctioned during the 2016 election in Durham County, North Carolina, as well as whether the FBI reviewed forensic examinations of the manufacturer's servers, and, finally, how the agency is planning to ensure that similar technology is safe from cyber attacks ahead of the 2020 election. Read the full letter here.
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.
-
Has Putin launched the second nuclear arms race?In Depth Historian Serhii Plokhy explains why the Kremlin’s nuclear proliferation has begun a dangerous new era of mutually assured destruction
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Quiz of The Week: 22 – 28 NovemberQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
