U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff questioned President-elect Trump’s nominee for CIA Director about protecting American elections from foreign threats, pointing to bomb threats against Georgia polling places in the 2024 election.
The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee recently held a nomination hearing for John L. Ratcliffe to be the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
During the hearing, Sen. Ossoff asked Mr. Ratcliffe for an assurance that the CIA will sustain intelligence collection to identify threats to voting rights and election administration in the United States, which he did.
According to Georgia’s Secretary of State, dozens of polling places in Georgia received non-credible bomb threats on election day in November 2024, which Secretary of State Raffensperger said originated from Russian actors, and which disrupted elections administration.
“I want to begin with a matter of impacts Georgia on Election Day 2024. There were a series of bomb threats issued against polling places in DeKalb County, Georgia, principally predominantly Black, predominantly Democratic-leaning precincts, that disrupted election operations and the ability of folks to vote in the afternoon on election day,” Sen. Ossoff said in the hearing. “Our state election officials attributed those threats to Russian actors. What assurance can you give my constituents in Georgia that CIA will sustain collection to identify threats to voting rights and election administration in the United States?”
“Those are the kinds of things that the CIA not only should do, but must do, and frankly, do better, in terms of collecting intelligence on how our adversaries intend, whether it’s through physical means or through a cyber means of disrupting or influencing elections. And you know, the CIA’s role should be to identify those threats over there before they come over here,” Ratcliffe said.
Find a transcript of Sen. Ossoff’s line of questioning below:
SEN. OSSOFF: “I want to begin with a matter that impacts Georgia. On Election Day 2024, there were a series of bomb threats issued against polling places in DeKalb County, Georgia, principally. Predominantly Black, predominantly Democratic leaning precincts that disrupted election operations and the ability of folks to vote in the afternoon on Election Day. Our state election officials attributed those threats to Russian actors.
“What assurance can you give my constituents in Georgia that CIA will sustain collection to identify threats to voting rights and election administration in the United States?”
RATCLIFFE: “So, thank you, Senator for the question. I enjoyed our visit as well. I can give every assurance.
“As you know, the CIA doesn’t have domestic authorities when we talk about election security issues. The FBI and DHS are the agencies that provide that protection, where the CIA plays a role, is if we have bad actors who want to influence or impact our elections, as you’ve related in this case. I haven’t seen that specific intelligence, but that, for instance, Russia, Russian actors were behind those threats.
“Those are the kinds of things that the CIA not only should do, but must do, and frankly, do better, in terms of collecting intelligence on how our adversaries intend, whether it’s through physical means or through a cyber means of disrupting or influencing elections. And you know, the CIA’s role should be to identify those threats over there before they come over here.”
SEN. OSSOFF: “Thank you for that commitment to sustain that collection. I appreciate it.”
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