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"In the months before Kirstien Nielsen was forced to resign, she tried to focus the White House on one of her highest priorities as homeland security secretary: preparing for new and different Russian forms of interference in the 2020 election.
"President Trump's chief of staff told her not to bring it up in front of the president. . . . In a meeting this year, [he] . . . made it clear that Mr. Trump still equated any public discussion of malign Russian election activity with questions about the legitimacy of his victory. . . .
"Ms. Nielsen eventually gave up on her effort to organize a White House meeting of cabinet secretaries to coordinate a strategy to protect next year's elections.
"As a result, the issue did not gain the urgency or widespread attention that a president can command. And it meant that many Americans remain unaware of the latest versions of Russian interference.
"This account of Ms. Nielsen's frustrations was described to the New York Times by three senior Trump administration officials and one former senior administration official, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity. The White House did not provide comment after multiple requests on Tuesday.
"While American intelligence agencies have warned of the dangers of new influence campaigns penetrating the 2020 elections, Mr. Trump and those closest to him have maintained that the effects of Russia's interference in 2016 was overblown. 'You look at what Russia did -- you know, buying some Facebook ads to try to sow dissent and do it -- and it's a terrible thing,' Jared Kushner . . . said during an interview . . . 'But I think the investigations, and all the speculation that's happened for the last two years, has had a much harsher impact on our democracy than a couple of Facebook ads.' . . .
"The opening page of the Worldwide Threat Assessment, a public document compiled by government intelligence agencies . . . warned that 'the threat landscape could look very different in 2020 and future elections.'
"'Russia's social media effort 'will continue to focus on aggravating social and racial tensions, undermining trust in authorities and criticizing perceived anti-Russia politicians,' the report noted. It also predicted that 'Moscow may employ additional influence tool kits -- such as spreading disinformation, conducting hack-and-leak operations or manipulating data -- in a more targeted fashion to influence U.S. policy, actions and elections.'
"By comparison, cyberthreats have taken a back seat among security priorities at the White House. . . Mr. Trump's national security adviser, John R. Bolton, eliminated the position of cybersecurity coordinator at the White House last year, leaving junior aides to deal with the issue. In January, Ms. Nielsen fumed when 45 percent of her cyberdefense work force was furloughed during the government shutdown.
"Ms. Nielsen grew so frustrated with White House reluctance to convene top-level officials to come up with a governmentwide strategy that she twice pulled together her own meetings of cabinet secretaries and agency heads . . . many of whom later periodically issued public warnings about indicators that Russia was both looking for new ways to interfere and experimenting with techniques in Ukraine and Europe. One senior official described homeland security officials as adamant that the United States government needs to significantly step up its efforts to urge the American public and companies to block foreign influence campaigns. But the department was stymied by the White House's refusal to discuss it, the official said."
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The least bad explanation for the president's willful ignorance about this is the personal one: that he simply cannot tolerate the possibility that his victory in the electoral college was not legitimate. That, in itself, would make him unfit to serve as president, if he cannot put personal pique aside enough to protect our nation from foreign attack. It could even be added as another example, in an impeachment process, of the president's failure to carry out the duties of his office.
If that's not the explanation, then it suggests that Russia has some nefarious hold on the president of the United States -- either money or scandal. I cannot even conjure up an explanation that is not bad. This is a dangerous time, and I take no comfort in the wishful thinking that surely Trump will be defeated at the polls. Not if Russia still wants its 'useful idiot' in the Oval Office -- and Trump has blocked our intelligence agencies from preparing for it.
Ralph
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