Intelligence official disputes Trump's claims of foreign interference in mail-in ballots
President Trump's own administration is disputing his fabrications of mail-in voter fraud.
In one of his many attempts to sow mistrust in absentee voting as it gains popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump has suggested that it could be susceptible to foreign interference. But as senior intelligence officials tell CNN, the U.S. has no information to suggest that is happening.
"We have no information or intelligence that any nation state threat actor is engaging in activity ... to undermine any part of the mail-in vote or ballots," one official said. Still, that official and others wouldn't discuss how Russia may be trying to capitalize on Trump's public mistrust in the election system, just as it did in 2016.
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As it becomes clear in-person voting won't be as much of an option this fall, Trump has tried to stoke mistrust around mail-in and absentee voting, in particular by claiming they're not even the same thing. They are, and Trump and many of his officials have used these processes for years to cast their votes. There are no reports of widespread fraud when it comes to absentee ballots, and in some states, it's pretty much the only process used to hold elections.
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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.
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