Russian efforts to interfere in upcoming U.S. midterm elections have yet to reach the intensity of the Kremlin’s campaign to disrupt the 2016 presidential vote, but they’re only “a keyboard click away” from a more serious attack, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said.
“We have not seen that kind of robust campaign from them so far,” Coats said in a briefing at the White House on Thursday.
Coats was among five top national security leaders — including National Security Adviser John Bolton, FBI Director Christopher Wray, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and General Paul Nakasone, director of the National Security Agency — who blasted Russian efforts to interfere in U.S. elections.
Coats said the Russians “are looking for every opportunity, regardless of party” to disrupt U.S. elections.
