Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Tuesday the Justice Department will convene a task force to study foreign efforts to interfere in U.S. elections, and that task force will submit a report by the end of June.
“At the Department of Justice, we take these threats seriously. That is why today I am ordering the creation of a Cyber-Digital Task Force to advise me on the most effective ways that this Department can confront these threats and keep the American people safe,” Sessions said in a statement.
Sessions said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will name a senior department official to chair the task force.
The effort will seek to "canvass the many ways that the Department is combatting the global cyber threat" as well as "identify how federal law enforcement can more effectively accomplish its mission in this vital and evolving area," according to the press release.
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The cyber force will bring together representatives from a wide range of DOJ offices along with outside law enforcement and federal agencies, depending on the direction of Rosenstein.
It has been more than a year since the intelligence community released its report confirming Russian election interference, and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats all have stated recently they fully expect Russia will attempt to meddle in the 2018 midterms.
It is unclear how a task force report delivered four months before election day will serve to protect the U.S. from that imminent threat.
Sessions creates cyber task force to study election interference (The Hill)