{"id":2322947,"date":"2024-08-12T07:48:59","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T11:48:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/feds-election-interference-didnt-stop-after-2020\/"},"modified":"2024-08-12T07:57:04","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T11:57:04","slug":"feds-election-interference-didnt-stop-after-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/feds-election-interference-didnt-stop-after-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Feds&#8217; Election Interference Didn&#8217;t Stop After 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffeds-election-interference-didnt-stop-after-2020%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2322947&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The text\u200c discusses concerns about the\u2064 U.S. government&#8217;s increasing influence \u200bover\u200b speech,\u2063 particularly in the context of upcoming elections. It highlights \u200dthe role of various agencies in managing\u200c perceived\u2063 threats from foreign\u2062 disinformation, citing a \u2064recent report by\u2063 the\u2062 Justice Department&#8217;s \u2063Office of Inspector General. This\u2063 report implies that the government has historically suppressed domestic opinions deemed unfavorable through\u2062 collaboration with social media platforms, particularly during the 2020 election. <\/p>\n<p>The FBI is noted \u200dto\u200c be implementing\u200d new procedures regarding \u2064how it shares information about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-grassley-says-things-arent-right-with-the-fbi-but-opposes-gop-calls-to-shut-it-down\/\" title=\"Sen. Grassley acknowledges FBI issues but rejects GOP push to close it.\">foreign \u2063malign influence<\/a> with social media, yet critiques are raised about the transparency\u2064 and trustworthiness of these efforts. The\u2063 text expresses skepticism about\u2063 the potential \u200dfor government \u2062overreach \u200band the\u2063 impact \u2064on free speech, particularly given previous incidents of censorship\u2064 facilitated by purported\u200b security \u2064concerns. It argues that the \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-officials-warn-rough-road-ahead-in-afghanistan-critics-warn-bidens-response-will-shatter-international-partnerships\/\" title=\"Biden officials warn rough road ahead in Afghanistan, critics warn Biden\u2019s response will shatter international partnerships\">national security apparatus<\/a> \u2064may repeat past\u2064 mistakes by\u2063 using foreign \u2063influence narratives to \u2063justify controlling speech on social media, \u200cthus interfering with \u200cballots and \u2063public discourse ahead of\u2062 the 2024 elections. the piece emphasizes \u200bthe need for oversight and a critical stance toward government\u200d actions that risk infringing on individual liberties.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>America&rsquo;s speech police are reassembling to once again influence our elections. At the same time the security state is creating potential pretexts for renewed censorship by issuing warnings of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisa.gov\/news-events\/news\/cisa-and-fbi-release-joint-psa-putting-potential-ddos-attacks-during-2024-election-cycle-context\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cyberattacks<\/a>&nbsp;that could &ldquo;hinder public access to election information,&rdquo; they are also reprising old claims of coming Russian election&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dni.gov\/files\/FMIC\/documents\/ODNI-Election-Security-Update-20240709.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">interference<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/politics\/national-security\/russia-seeks-to-boost-trump-in-2024-election-u-s-intelligence-officials-say-312bb12a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">on behalf of<\/a>&nbsp;Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>The little-noticed development comes in a <a href=\"https:\/\/oig.justice.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/reports\/24-080.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> from the Justice Department&rsquo;s Office of Inspector General (OIG) on the DOJ&rsquo;s efforts to &ldquo;Coordinate Information Sharing About Foreign Malign Influence Threats to U.S. Elections&rdquo; &mdash; a euphemism for the chief <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/did-president-trump-spring-a-trap-on-treasonous-democrats-on-election-night\/\" title=\"Did President Trump Spring a Trap on Treasonous Democrats on Election Night?\">law enforcement agency<\/a>&rsquo;s prior censorship activities.<\/p>\n<p>During the 2020 election, as revealed in <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/bhweingarten\/status\/1676284838456729600\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">litigation<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/republicans-judiciary.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/cisa-staff-report6-26-23.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">congressional<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/republicans-judiciary.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/EIP_Jira-Ticket-Staff-Report-11-7-23-Clean.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">oversight<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearinvestigations.com\/articles\/2023\/11\/06\/documents_shed_new_light_on_feds_collusion_with_private_actors_to_police_speech_on_social_media_990672.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reporting<\/a>, national security and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oregon-governor-encourages-people-to-call-police-on-neighbors-violating-covid-orders\/\" title=\"Oregon Governor Encourages People To Call Police On Neighbors Violating COVID Orders\">law enforcement agencies<\/a> used the threat of foreign misinformation and disinformation on social media to U.S. elections as a pretext to surveil and suppress domestic news and opinions deemed derogatory to our ruling regime.<\/p>\n<p>An alphabet soup of agencies coerced, cajoled, and colluded directly and via cutouts with social media companies to get those companies to squash all manner of wrongthink on election integrity and outcomes at mass scale.<\/p>\n<p>While the OIG explicitly omitted the &ldquo;FBI&rsquo;s information sharing with social media companies with respect to domestic actors&rdquo; from its report, the DOJ&rsquo;s response to the office&rsquo;s recommendations will likely have substantial bearing on Americans&rsquo; speech.<\/p>\n<p>That response, appended to the report, comes in the form of a DOJ <a href=\"https:\/\/oig.justice.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/reports\/24-080.pdf#page=50\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">memo<\/a> revealing that the law enforcement agency has now codified its protocols for reporting purported &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-is-ramping-up-censorship-efforts-ahead-of-2024-election\/\" title=\"FBI Is Ramping Up Censorship Efforts Ahead Of 2024 Election\">foreign malign influence&#038;rdquo<\/a>; information with social media companies, and is redoubling its efforts to do so in the run-up to the 2024 election.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the FBI has been implementing new Standard Operating Procedures since February.<\/p>\n<p>Under those procedures, the FBI is required to identify &ldquo;specific, credible, and articulable facts that provide high confidence for assessing that the information at issue relates to activity attributable to a foreign government, foreign non-state actor, or their proxy engaged in an FMI [foreign malign influence] operation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Bureau is also required to include a Disclaimer &mdash; akin to one authorities often included in censorship requests from 2020 &mdash; explaining it &ldquo;does not request or expect&rdquo; recipients to take any specific action based on shared information.<\/p>\n<p>A related <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fbi.gov\/investigate\/counterintelligence\/foreign-influence\/providing-foreign-malign-influence-threat-information-to-social-media-platforms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">summary<\/a> of the procedures posted on the FBI website notes that communications to social media platforms must make clear that the FBI &ldquo;does not investigate <em>solely <\/em>based on First Amendment-protected activity.&rdquo; [Emphasis mine]\n<p>On top of implementing these procedures, the memo adds that the FBI will be resuming regular meetings with social media companies regarding foreign malign influence threats; that FBI field offices will be engaging in outreach efforts to foster relationships with social media companies in their jurisdictions, in coordination with the FBI&rsquo;s &ldquo;Foreign Influence Task Force&rdquo; &mdash; a key <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mtaibbi\/status\/1606701407377457153\">cog<\/a> in censorship activities in 2020; and that senior DOJ officials will be making the rounds with relevant stakeholders to discuss their information sharing strategy.<\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department assures us that its extensive interaction with Big Tech companies is of a completely passive nature, solely concerning clear-cut foreign influence operations, and will strictly protect our right to free speech.<\/p>\n<p>Yet it has done nothing to demonstrate that we should trust it.<\/p>\n<p>It can&rsquo;t be expected that <em>any <\/em>of the information the national security apparatus &ldquo;shared&rdquo; with social media companies in 2020, resulting in Americans&rsquo; speech being censored, would now be shared under the current plan.<\/p>\n<p>Nor is it likely that the new procedures will curtail <em>any<\/em> of the other tactics the government employed directly and via cutouts to shut down social media censorship. So, what is to prevent the feds from working with cutouts in the exact same fashion as they did last time?<\/p>\n<p>What kind of oversight exists to ensure authorities are not targeting Americans, and for the content of their speech, and would those who abused their powers be punished?<\/p>\n<p>The American people simply can&rsquo;t trust the FBI to police itself &mdash; an FBI that groomed social media companies to think the Hunter Biden laptop story was a foreign disinformation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/hunter-biden-laptop-scandal-ultimate-american-information-operation-opinion-1690293\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">operation<\/a> and refused to disabuse them of that notion when asked, even when the Bureau <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/media\/press-releases\/testimony-reveals-fbi-employees-who-warned-social-media-companies-about-hack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">knew<\/a> the laptop was real, leading to the mass censorship of one of the most salient possible stories in the throes of an election.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden-Harris administration has dubbed up to half the country as domestic terrorists, weaponized the national security apparatus against its political opponents, and no doubt feels emboldened thanks to the Supreme Court&rsquo;s dereliction of duty in refusing to combat the fed-led censorship regime revealed in <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/06\/09\/this-federal-case-could-help-end-federal-policing-of-public-speech\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Murthy v. Missouri<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It would be the height of folly to assume anything other than that the national security apparatus will use the threat of purported foreign influence operations to our elections via social media to police social media, and thereby meddle in our elections.<\/p>\n<p>FBI Director Christopher Wray may have inadvertently given away the game in a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FgkY0rrO8Cw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hearing <\/a>before the House Judiciary Committee.<\/p>\n<p>There, under questioning from Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., Wray praised the Supreme Court for finding in <em>Murthy <\/em>that there was no evidence the FBI coerced platforms to take disfavored content down.<\/p>\n<p>Only the court did no such thing. The congresswoman corrected him, noting that the court ruled on standing, not the underlying merits of a case in which many of the justices seemed intent on ignoring the overwhelming factual record.<\/p>\n<p>The posture of our national security apparatus seems clear.<\/p>\n<p>As of now, Justice Samuel Alito is looking awfully prescient. In his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/23pdf\/23-411_3dq3.pdf#page=35\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dissent<\/a> in <em>Murthy<\/em>, issued in late June, the associate justice chided the court for &ldquo;shirk[ing]&rdquo; its duty by refusing to &ldquo;tackle the free speech issue that the case presents,&rdquo; thereby allowing the &ldquo;campaign of coercion in this case to stand as an attractive model for future officials who want to control what the people say, hear, and think.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Officials who read today&rsquo;s decision,&rdquo; he continued &ldquo;will get the message. If a coercive campaign is carried out with enough sophistication, it may get by. That is not a message the court should send.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The feds may well have heard it loud and clear.<\/p>\n<p>To the extent they abuse our free speech rights once again in the 2024 election, we likely won&rsquo;t find out about it till after the damage has been done &mdash; if ever.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Ben Weingarten is editor at large for RealClearInvestigations. He is a senior contributor to The Federalist, columnist at Newsweek, and a contributor to the New York Post and Epoch Times, among other publications. Subscribe to his newsletter at weingarten.substack.com, and follow him on Twitter: @bhweingarten.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>America&#8217;s speech regulators are regrouping to exert influence over our elections once more. Concurrently, the security apparatus is generating possible justifications for renewed censorship by issuing alerts about cyberattacks that could &#8220;impede public access to election information.&#8221; They are also reviving previous assertions of impending Russian interference in elections favoring Donald Trump. This underreported situation arises from a report by the Justice Department\u2019s Office of Inspector General (OIG) regarding the DOJ\u2019s initiatives to \u201cCoordinate Information Sharing About Foreign Malign Influence Threats to U.S. Elections,\u201d which serves as a euphemism for past censorship efforts by the primary law enforcement agency.<\/p>\n<p>During the 2020 election, as disclosed through legal proceedings, congressional oversight, and media reports, national security and law enforcement agencies exploited fears of foreign misinformation on social media concerning U.S. elections as a pretext for monitoring and suppressing domestic news and opinions viewed as unfavorable to those in power. Various government agencies pressured social media companies directly or indirectly to eliminate any dissent regarding election integrity and outcomes on a large scale.<\/p>\n<p>While the OIG&#8217;s report notably excluded details about \u201cFBI\u2019s information sharing with social media companies concerning domestic actors,\u201d how the DOJ responds to this office&#8217;s recommendations will likely significantly impact Americans&#8217; freedom of speech. This response is included in a DOJ memo indicating that they have formalized their protocols for reporting alleged \u201cforeign malign influence\u201d information with social media platforms and are intensifying these efforts ahead of the 2024 election.<\/p>\n<p>Since February, the FBI has been implementing new Standard Operating Procedures requiring it to identify &#8220;specific, credible, and articulable facts&#8221; that provide strong confidence that certain information pertains to activities linked with foreign governments or non-state actors involved in foreign malign influence operations. The Bureau must also include Disclaimers\u2014similar to those used during censorship requests in 2020\u2014stating it &#8220;does not request or expect&#8221; recipients to take specific actions based on shared data.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, an overview posted on the FBI website clarifies that communications with social media platforms must indicate that investigations do not occur solely based on First Amendment-protected activities. The memo further states that regular meetings between FBI officials and social media companies regarding threats from foreign malign influences will resume; field offices will engage with local platforms; coordination will occur through its \u201cForeign Influence Task Force\u201d\u2014a significant player in past censorship\u2014and senior DOJ officials will meet stakeholders about their information-sharing strategy.<\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department claims its extensive interactions with Big Tech firms are entirely passive and focused only on clear cases of foreign influence operations while ensuring protection for free speech rights. However, there has been no evidence provided suggesting we should trust this assertion.<\/p>\n<p>It is unreasonable to expect any previously shared intelligence from national security entities leading up to 2020\u2014which resulted in American speech being censored\u2014would now be handled differently under current plans. Furthermore, it seems unlikely these new procedures would limit other tactics employed by authorities directly or indirectly aimed at curbing online discourse.<\/p>\n<p>What safeguards exist against federal collaboration using similar methods as before? What oversight ensures authorities do not target Americans based solely on their speech content? Will those who misuse their authority face consequences? <\/p>\n<p>The American public cannot rely on an FBI capable of self-regulation\u2014especially one that led social media firms into believing false narratives like Hunter Biden&#8217;s laptop being part of a disinformation campaign while knowing otherwise\u2014a situation resulting in widespread suppression during an election period.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden-Harris administration has labeled nearly half of America as domestic terrorists while weaponizing national security resources against political adversaries; they likely feel emboldened due partly because Supreme Court justices have failed adequately address issues surrounding federal-led censorship revealed during Murthy v. Missouri.<\/p>\n<p>Assuming anything less than full utilization by national security entities leveraging supposed threats from foreign influence operations via social networks would be naive when considering potential meddling within our electoral processes.<\/p>\n<p>FBI Director Christopher Wray may have inadvertently exposed intentions during recent testimony before Congress when he praised findings related specifically around Murthy without acknowledging critical nuances highlighted by Rep Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo). She corrected him stating rulings were made strictly concerning standing rather than addressing substantive merits where many justices appeared intent upon overlooking substantial factual evidence presented throughout proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Samuel Alito\u2019s dissent issued late June appears increasingly prescient: he criticized his colleagues\u2019 refusal tackle free-speech implications raised within case context allowing coercive campaigns like this one stand unchallenged setting dangerous precedents moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>If federal authorities again infringe upon our free expression rights come 2024 elections\u2014we may only discover such abuses after irreversible damage occurs\u2014or perhaps never at all.<\/p>\n<p>Ben Weingarten serves as editor-at-large for RealClearInvestigations alongside contributions across various publications including Newsweek &amp; New York Post among others; subscribe via newsletter @weingarten.substack.com &amp; follow him @bhweingarten<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":698,"featured_media":2322948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Wray.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[32675,32119,32857,33017,35823],"class_list":["post-2322947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-2020-election","tag-election-interference","tag-federal-government","tag-political-analysis","tag-voter-integrity"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Wray.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2322947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/698"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2322947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2322947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2322948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2322947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2322947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2322947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}