Our live coverage has ended. Scroll through the posts below to see how today’s White House press briefing unfolded.
President Trump instructed the nation’s top security chiefs to speak at the press briefing about countering attempts to interfere in U.S. elections, a White House official tells CNN.
This happened despite the President’s brief meeting on election security last Friday that lasted half an hour and his refusal to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin over meddling while standing next to him on the world stage.
The official declined to say if Trump himself expressed interest in coming out today.
CNN’s Jim Acosta pressed White House press secretary Sarah Sanders if she, like the President has said multiple times, believed that the press was in fact the “enemy of the people.”
She wouldn’t say if she agreed with him, but she wouldn’t say that she didn’t.
Instead, Sanders said, “I appreciate your passion. I share it. I’ve addressed this question. I’ve addressed my personal feelings. I’m here to speak on behalf of the president. He’s made his comments clear.”
Here’s how Acosta reacted on Twitter:
Context: The President’s own daughter, Ivanka, said this morning that she did not share his belief that the press was the enemy of the people. “I’ve certainly received my fair share of reporting on me personally that I know not to be fully accurate, so I have some sensitivity around why people have concerns and gripe, especially when they’re sort of targeted. But no, I do not feel that the media is the enemy of the people,” the younger Trump said.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders was asked if the Trump administration would consider a national voter ID law.
The question was spurred by President Trump’s recent call for stronger voter ID laws, in which he said identification is required for buying groceries (it’s not).
“We’re looking into everything we can to protect the 2018 elections, the integrity of those elections and moving on beyond 2018 to 2020 and after,” Sanders said.
Then she added this:
Sanders then added that “it’s not outrageous” for state and federal officials to require people to show IDs when voting.
“It’s not unreasonable. If I return something to a department store, if I have to cash a check I have to show my ID in order do those things.”
FBI Director Chris Wray was asked how the agency is progressing in identifying interference threats on social media ahead of the 2018 midterm elections compared to what they were doing ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Wray declined to talk about specific investigations but said it highlights the need for a public, private partnership to combat interference.
He added that the FBI is “spending so much of our effort to engage with social media companies” because they play an important role in monitoring and policing their platforms.
He said the FBI is sharing intelligence with those social media platforms “in a way that wasn’t happening before” and “they are sharing information back with us.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray rebuked the White House that his agency contained corrupt elements.
He was asked about Trump’s comments about the special counsel investigation, and his criticism of the FBI as it continues its probe into Russian meddling. Included in the question were press secretary Sarah Sanders’ comments on Wednesday claiming there is a lot of corruption in the FBI.
Sanders was looking on as the question was asked.
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats was just asked how threats to the upcoming midterm elections this November compare to the 2016 election interference.
Here’s how he responded:
He continued: “We know that through decades, Russia has tried to use its propaganda and methods to sow discord in America. However, they stepped up their game big time in 2016. We have not seen that kind of robust effort from them so far.”
National security adviser John Bolton just said President Trump “cares deeply” about preventing Russian meddling and interference in US elections. The remark came in response to a reporter’s question asking why Trump didn’t use his press conference in Helsinki to highlight the activities they were talking about today.
The reporter asked:
Bolton responded:
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats made it clear why he and others in the national security corner of Trump’s administration came to the briefing.
“Our focus here today is simply to tell the American people we acknowledge the threat. It is real. It is continuing. And we’re doing everything we can to have a legitimate election that the American people can have trust in,” Coats said.
He added it goes beyond the elections.
“It goes to Russia’s intent to undermine our democratic values, drive a wedge between our allies, and do a number of other nefarious things. We are looking at that also, but today we are here to talk about the elections coming up and what,” he stated.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristjen Nielsen said attacks on US elections are an attack on American democracy.
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said Thursday that Russia is continuing to pursue its efforts to interfere in the US political system and said President Donald Trump has “specifically directed” the US intelligence community to make countering election interference a top priority.
“We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States,” Coats said Thursday from the White House briefing room.
Coats also said that while Russia is continuing to interfere in the US, other countries also have “an interest in trying to influence our domestic political environment.”
“We know that there are others who have the capability,” Coats said. “We will continue to monitor and warn of any such efforts.
Coats comments came during an unannounced briefing on election security that involved several of the top US national security and law enforcement officials.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, FBI Director Dan Coats, National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone and National Security Adviser John Bolton also joined White House press secretary Sarah Sanders in the briefing room on Thursday.
Coats also said: “The intelligence community continues to be concerned about the threats of upcoming us elections, both the midterms and the presidential elections of 2020.”
National Security Adviser John Bolton said he has sent a letter to Senate Democrats stating, “President Trump has not and will not tolerate interference in America’s system of representative government. He has directed a vast, government-wide effort to protect electoral procedures and processes while investigating, prosecuting, and holding accountable those who illegally attempt to interfere.”
Read a portion of the letter:
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders started today’s press briefing by talking about cybersecurity in upcoming US elections.
She brought several national security and intelligence officials to speak to the media on the topic. They are…
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Sarah Sanders is due to take the podium in the White House briefing room in 10 minutes. Here are a few questions we think she might address.
