Rosenstein doubts foreign ads would sway American voters
Justice Department official overseeing Mueller Trump-Russia probe questions impact of other nations on U.S. elections.
By JOSH GERSTEIN 10/26/2017 07:17 PM EDT
The Justice Department official overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible complicity of President Donald Trump's campaign in Russian efforts to influence last year's election said in an interview released Wednesday that he doubts advertising by foreign countries would affect American voters.
“You know, American citizens are pretty savvy, and they decide who to vote for. I don’t think they’d be influenced by ads posted by foreign governments," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told J.J. Green, a national security reporter for WTOP-FM. "I think people are more thoughtful about that in the way that they make their decisions. But nonetheless, you know, if we have foreign countries that are seeking to interfere in our elections, I think we need to take appropriate actions in response.”
Rosenstein's comments downplaying the potential impact of foreign government ads come as lawmakers are intently focused on how the Russian government allegedly used social media during the 2016 race. At least three congressional committees are scheduled to hold hearings next week with executives from tech giants Google, Facebook and Twitter to discuss Russian use of their platforms.
It was not entirely clear from Rosenstein's comments whether he was dismissing the idea that Russian actions taken as a whole affected the election or disputing the notion that ads alone had a significant impact. An intelligence community assessment found no evidence that vote totals were altered by hacking activity, but did not attempt to address indirect effects on the electorate or the political debate.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/26/rod-rosenstein-foreign-ads-american-voters-244221
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Now I know they're fucking with us.
