The FBI’s St. Louis office has established an Election Command Post to monitor and address election-related threats. The post will be staffed 24/7 through this Saturday. James Barnacle, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Division, explained why this post is needed.
“Russia, China and Iran are seeking to influence us, government, policy and politics for their benefit,” he said. “They are also looking to undermine democracy, sow discord, and undermine Washington’s standing in the world.”
The FBI is focused on election fraud, voter suppression, foreign influence, cyber threats, and threats to election workers.
“So, the FBI is looking at all those threats that come in,” he explained. “Here in the command post, we’re triaging that information. We’re working with our field offices. As you know, the FBI has 55 field offices. Each of those field offices will operate a command post this week.”
The FBI, which serves under the guidance of the Department of Justice, is taking a limited role to investigate and prosecute violations of federal election laws and deter criminal conduct. The reason is because the states, not the federal government, are responsible for administering elections.
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