WASHINGTON _ A Trump administration report found "no material impact of foreign interference," in the 2018 elections, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
The report, by Acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen, is classified. But a Department of Justice press release said it "concluded there is no evidence to date that any identified activities of a foreign government or foreign agent had a material impact on the integrity or security of election infrastructure or political/campaign infrastructure used in the 2018 midterm elections for the United States Congress."
The report was prepared in response to an executive order President Donald Trump issued in September, which required a series of assessments of foreign meddling after the conclusion of an election. The DOJ and the Treasury Department report was informed by a report submitted to Trump in December by Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats.
That report, produced in response to the same executive order, did not find evidence of "direct interference," in the 2018 elections. But it found a continuation of "influence activities" and "messaging campaigns" by countries such as Russia, China and Iran ahead of the election, The Associated Press reported.
Efforts to safeguard the 2020 elections are underway, the DOJ press release said.
