US President Donald Trump has ordered a new investigation into alleged Chinese interference in US elections, announcing the declassification of intelligence documents that he says reveal major vulnerabilities in the country’s voting systems.
Speaking from the White House on Thursday, Trump claimed that China had carried out what he described as “the largest compromise of election data in history.” He alleged that Beijing obtained access to information from 220 million US voter files before the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden.
He began his remarks by casting doubt on US election security, claiming it “falls catastrophically short.”
Trump said he had directed the director of national intelligence and the FBI to investigate the allegations and determine the full extent of the reported data breach.
Trump says election systems ‘exposed to manipulation and corruption’
The president argued that the case demonstrates that “the US electoral system is exposed to manipulation and corruption.” He added that federal authorities are in the process of notifying states whose election data may have been compromised.
Trump also renewed his call for stricter election security measures, urging Congress to pass the SAVE Act, which would introduce voter photo ID requirements, require proof of citizenship when registering to vote and expand federal access to voter registration data.
During the address, Trump criticized television networks that chose not to broadcast the speech live, saying they should lose their licenses.
ABC and NBC chose not to air Trump’s speech live on their main broadcast channels, instead carrying it on streaming platforms. CNN made the address available online and on its subscription service. The decision limited the speech’s reach compared with traditional television broadcasts.
The White House has published documents related to the claims on its website. The allegations are expected to intensify debate over election security and foreign interference in the United States.
Democrats, China push back on Trump’s allegations
Trump’s claims drew immediate criticism from political opponents and raised concerns within his own administration.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, dismissed the allegations, saying “Trump’s shocking ‘bombshells’ about China are totally bogus.” He argued that US intelligence agencies had unanimously concluded that China did not attempt to alter any votes in the 2020 election.
Reuters also reported that some White House officials worried the release of the intelligence could be misleading.
Meanwhile, China rejected the allegations, with embassy spokesperson Liu Chang stating, “China has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the US”
The remarks risk adding tension to US-China relations at a time when Trump is seeking a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year to discuss trade ties.
Trump alleges intelligence officials withheld China findings
Trump claimed that members of the US intelligence community deliberately withheld information about China’s alleged election-related activities.
However, his assertions conflict with a 2021 intelligence community assessment, which found no evidence that any foreign actor attempted to alter or successfully changed “any technical aspect” of the 2020 presidential election, including voter registrations, ballots, vote tabulations or results.
The assessment was conducted under John Ratcliffe, who was director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term and now serves as CIA director.
Among the documents released by the administration was a CIA report describing Chinese efforts to gather information on Joe Biden’s campaign.
The report also stated that Beijing “does not currently intend to covertly interfere to try to sway the outcome of the election,” while noting that China could decide to do so at a later stage.
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Edited by: Sean Sinico
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