DNI report confirms Russia sought to influence 2018 midterms

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats released a statement Friday confirming that Russia, China, Iran and other countries conducted "influence activities" and "messaging campaigns" in the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections, but that there is no indication any election infrastructure was compromised.

Why it matters: This is the first formal assessment by the U.S. intelligence community that concludes foreign influence campaigns were conducted during the 2018 campaign. Coats said the intelligence community did not make an assessment on what impact these activities had on the outcome of the election.