The Russians are coming back, or more accurately, they never left, and as far as election interference is concerned, Christopher Wray believes Moscow will “keep at it.”
So much so that the director of the F.B.I. said on Friday that the bureau has begun assigning additional agents and analysts to stop foreign influence in the upcoming presidential election. From The New York Times:
“We recognize that our adversaries are going to keep adapting and upping their game,” Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, said Friday in a speech in Washington, citing the presence of Russian intelligence officers in the United States and the Kremlin’s record of malign influence operations.
“So we are very much viewing 2018 as just kind of a dress rehearsal for the big show in 2020,” he said.”
Donald Trump has been a longtime non-believer in Russian interference so, as the Times reports, it’s been difficult to have a high-level of coordination.
President Trump has little interest or patience for hearing about such warnings, officials have said.
Mr. Trump views any discussion of future Russian interference as effectively questioning the legitimacy of his 2016 victory, prompting senior officials to head off discussions with him.
But Director Wray said Moscow continues to stir up trouble.
