Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday for a hearing on election interference, Adam Hickey, the deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s national security division, told lawmakers he would be delivering a report on foreign efforts to interfere in U.S. elections and what we can do about it to Attorney General Jeff Sessions by the end of June.
“I anticipate then the department will issue a public report in mid-July,” Hickey told the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I expect that report will provide additional insight into how the department intends to apply longstanding principles and policies in the sensitive context of foreign influence operations.”
Hickey provided few further details on what either report would contain.
Sessions convened a cyber-digital task force in February, as the administration faced criticism from Democrats to do more to address future foreign interference following Russian efforts to meddle in the 2016 vote.
Sessions broadly directed the task force to study a range of malicious cyber activity, including efforts to interfere in elections, efforts to interfere with U.S. critical infrastructure, data theft, and the use of the internet to spread “violent ideologies.”
Tuesday's Election Interference hearing featured two separate panels.
Justice and Homeland Security Department officials testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the efforts of their respective agencies to combat U.S. election interference by foreign actors. The committee also heard testimony from a second panel, which included former Defense and Homeland Security officials as well as academic scholars. They outlined strategies and recommendations aimed to protect election infrastructure and social media platforms from attacks.
Election Interference: Ensuring Law Enforcement Is Equipped to Target Those Seeking to Do Harm (hearing and prepared statements)
DOJ likely to issue public report on foreign election interference in July (The Hill)