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WASHINGTON, U.S. – For its Thursday briefing, the White House lined up all the top U.S. National Security and Intelligence chiefs, who collectively issued a warning: Russia is trying to interfere in the 2018 U.S. midterm election. 

In a dramatic intervention, the White House briefing featured the Trump administration’s highest-ranking national security officials gathered there to verify that the President had directed U.S. intelligence agencies to combat any interference in the upcoming congressional elections.

The officials, including Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, FBI Director Chris Wray, National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, pointed out  that efforts are underway from foreign adversaries to impact both the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential election.

Dan Coats, Director of National Intelligence said that Russia is making efforts to meddle in the 2018 U.S. midterm elections and that they “are looking for every opportunity, regardless of party” to cause disruption.

He explained, “Our focus here today is simply to tell the American people we acknowledge the threat. It is real. It is continuing. And we’re doing everything we can to have a legitimate election that the American people can have trust in.”

Coats said, “We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to weaken and divide the U.S.”

He pointed out that efforts were less robust so far than in 2016, and did not appear directed at a single party.

Coats said, “The president has specifically directed us to make the matter of election meddling and securing our election process a top priority. We know that through decades, Russia has tried to use its propaganda and methods to sow discord in America. However, they stepped up their game big time in 2016. We have not seen that kind of robust effort from them so far.”

Further, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristjen Nielsen said, “It goes to Russia’s intent to undermine our democratic values, drive a wedge between our allies, and do a number of other nefarious things. Our democracy itself is in the crosshairs. Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy, and it has become clear that they are the target of our adversaries who seek … to sow discord and undermine our way of life.”

Meanwhile, FBI Director Chris Wray explained that Russia sought to interfere with election outcomes using cyberattacks, suppressing voting, and providing illegal funding.

On a question by a reporter on whether Trump had adequately challenged the Russian President Vladimir Putin on the matter at their bilateral summit in Finland, Bolton said that it had been discussed.

He said, “President Putin said the first issue that President Trump raised was election meddling.”

Last month, Trump faced intense criticism after the Helsinki summit with Putin, when he was accused of undercutting American security findings and appeared to accept Putin’s denial that Moscow had interfered in the 2016 presidential elections.

Trump has also continued to label all the investigations into the Russian meddling and collusion in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election as a “witch hunt.” 

However, the Intelligence chiefs clarified that Russia was being accused for interference.

When Coats was asked by a reporter, if he was accusing rogue Russian individuals or the Kremlin itself of intervening in U.S. elections, he said, “Both.”

Coats explained that the hackers were trying to steal information from candidates and government officials and were seeking to influence voters through social media bots.

He said, “Our focus here today is simply to tell the American people we acknowledge the threat. It is real.”

Coats further pointed out that agencies were meeting weekly to focus on election security ahead of the mid-term elections in November.

Wray meanwhile added, “Russia attempted to interfere with the last election and continues to engage in malign influence operations to this day. This is a threat that we need to take extremely seriously.”