US will not tolerate Russian election meddling, State Department says
On November 8, 2022, midterm elections will be held in the United States (Photo:Travis Saylor/pexels)
Following the Kremlin’s henchman and chief of Wagner Group mercenary company Yevgeny Prigozhin’s admission that Russia meddles with U.S. elections, Washington is ready to introduce sanctions against any entity that tries to interfere in the election process, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said during a briefing on Nov. 7.
“We all know, especially now, that free and fair elections are the cornerstone of American society and American democracy,” said Price.
“We won’t allow interference in our elections, no matter where it comes from. We have witnessed this not only in words, but also in actions.”
Price recalled that back in 2018, the United States imposed sanctions against Prigozhin, his so-called Internet Research Agency (often described as an “internet troll farm”), and against Russia itself in 2021. Sanctions were also imposed on Iran over election interference.
“We interfered (in U.S. elections) before, we will continue to do so,” Prigozhin said on Nov. 7, commenting on the upcoming midterm Congressional elections in the United States.
“Carefully, precisely, surgically, and in our own way, as we do it.”
On Nov. 8, 2022, the United States will hold midterm elections that will fill all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate, as well as elect governors in 39 states. Currently, the Democratic Party controls both chamber of the U.S. Congress.
Earlier media reported that experts from U.S. cybersecurity firm Recorded Future believe that Russia is trying to interfere in the midterm elections.
Analysts note that in late summer 2022, fake accounts that published content aimed at discrediting the Democrats became more active on social media. According to the experts, these profiles are affiliated with Moscow.
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