The Director of National Intelligence's office is due to deliver a report on 2018 midterm election interference to the White House Friday, as required by an executive order President Trump signed earlier this year.
If officials find that interference took place — a prediction already being made by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle — it will pose a major test for Trump, who has been criticized for not doing enough to combat meddling from U.S. adversaries.
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Defense Secretary James Mattis said this month that Russia had interfered in the midterm elections, which returned Democrats to the majority in the House for the first time in eight years.
And shortly before Election Day, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against a Russian national for her alleged role in operating an influence campaign against U.S. elections, including the midterms.
Lawmakers said this week that they believe that Russia also meddled in the midterms, but not to the extent that it was involved in the 2016 presidential election.
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... Congress appropriated $380 million for election security earlier this year, allowing states to add resources aimed at securing their voting systems.
But that funding arrived too late for some states to use it before the midterms.
Congress also failed to pass any election security legislation outside beyond that additional funding, meaning federal agencies like the Department of Homeland Security and state officials ended up taking the lead on trying to secure election systems.
The Trump administration has been extremely slow in dealing with 2016 interference.
The Treasury Department on Wednesday announced sanctions against nine Russian military officers for allegedly interfering in the 2016 election.
But for some, those punitive steps are too little and too late.
Democrats and even some Republicans have been critical of Trump, saying he hasn’t done enough to combat election interference by Russia.
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After the DNI report is sent to the White House, acting Attorney General Michael Whitaker and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will have 45 days to write their own reports determining the extent of the interference.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin will also be asked to determine if any sanctions are appropriate and, if so, to implement them.
The Treasury Department is permitted but not required to then submit a final report to Congress, where lawmakers could take action like they did last year when they authorized sanctions against Russia for its 2016 interference.
However, Democrats this week were hesitant to say exactly what actions they would take if Russia is found to have again meddled in the 2018 midterms, saying they want to read the assessment before considering any retaliatory actions.
Trump faces new test with midterm election interference report (The Hill)