DHS Secretary Tasked With Securing US Electoral System Claims She's 'Not Aware' of IC Report Concluding Putin Wanted to Help Trump

Elizabeth Preza
and
 AlterNet
May 22, 2018 Election '16

United States Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen—who is tasked with securing the nation’s election system ahead of the 2018 midterm elections—on Tuesday said she hasn’t seen the 2017 Intelligence Community report on Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race.

Nielsen was speaking to reporters on election security when she was asked about the January 2017 assessment, which concluded Russia interfered in the election to help Donald Trump and hurt former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

“I don’t believe I’ve seen that conclusion,” Nielsen told reporters. “I’m not aware of that.”

As NBC News’ Marianna Sotomayor reports, Nielsen “tried to clarify her answer,” arguing it’s unclear who Putin preferred because Russian bots pushed content that was pro-Trump and pro-Clinton.

"What we have seen the Russians do is an attempt to manipulate ... public confidence on both sides,” she said. “I do believe that Russian did try and will continue to try to manipulate on a whole variety of issues.”

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