Sanctions Against Russia Over Election Hacking Forthcoming: Report
The April 2015 order allows the Treasury Department to freeze the assets of individuals or entities who used digital means to damage U.S. critical infrastructure or engage in economic espionage.
“You would (a) have to be able to say that the actual electoral infrastructure, such as state databases, was critical infrastructure, and (b) that what the Russians did actually harmed it,” a senior administration official told The Post. “Those are two high bars.”
Officials told the newspaper that the order could be amended to clearly designate that it applies to election interference, or the government could declare the electoral system “critical infrastructure” — a controversial proposal that states have pushed back on in the past.
Obama has been under pressure from some Democrats to issue a response to Russia over the hacking before he cedes the White House to Donald TrumpDonald TrumpFive regulations that could come in Obama’s final days Warren stirs talk of 2020 White House run Consumer confidence hits highest level since 2001 MORE in January. Critics fear that Trump, who has expressed a desire for warmer relations with the Kremlin, will take no action against Russia.
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