Top U.S. Intelligence official briefed lawmakers that foreign influence campaigns, chiefly at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party were “more expansive than previously known,” according to reports from The Hill.
While Russia and Iran were also named, the Chinese Communist Party was identified as the chief aggressor:
“Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe led intelligence officials in separately briefing the House and Senate Intelligence panels behind closed doors on the threats, informing lawmakers that the burgeoning foreign influence threat is being perpetrated by the usual suspects: China, Russia and Iran, though he indicated that Beijing was the primary aggressor. Ratcliffe gave ballpark estimates of how many lawmakers have been targeted, suggesting it is from the dozens to roughly 50. But in the briefings, he declined to identify which members of Congress were the targets and he did not indicate if one party was being more heavily targeted than the other. Asked about the briefings, an intelligence official said China is leading Russia and Iran in election influence operations.” The [intelligence community] has become aware of Chinese influence operations targeting members of Congress at a rate of approximately six times that of Russia, and 12 times that of Iran,” the intelligence official told The Hill.”
