House Democrats denounce Trump's claims of Chinese election meddling

Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Democrats on several House committees, including Homeland Security and Armed Services, said in a joint statement Wednesday that a briefing from the Department of Homeland Security last week does not support President Trump and Vice President Pence's statements that Chinese interference in U.S. elections surpasses that of Russia.

Why it matters: This provides insight into the kinds of information the White House has access to on Chinese interference, which the administration has been publicly discussing since Trump claimed China was meddling in U.S. elections without offering evidence. The Democrats — Reps. Bennie Thompson, Elijah Cummings, Jerrold Nadler, Adam Smith and Robert Brady — claim the White House is "driven by partisan politics" in pushing this narrative forward "rather than the facts."

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Kyle Daly, Ashley Gold
1 hour ago - Technology

Parties trade election influence accusations at Big Tech hearing

Photo: Michael Reynolds/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

A Senate hearing Wednesday with Big Tech CEOs became the backdrop for Democrats and Republicans to swap accusations of inappropriate electioneering.

Why it matters: Once staid tech policy debates are quickly becoming a major focal point of American culture and political wars, as both parties fret about the impact of massive social networks being the new public square.

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Ursula Perano
1 hour ago - World

Germany goes back into lockdown

Photo: Fabrizio Bensch/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will enact one of Europe's strictest coronavirus lockdowns since spring, closing bars and restaurants nationwide for most of November, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: Germany is the latest European country to reimpose some form of lockdown measures amid a surge in cases across the continent.

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Zach Dorfman of the Aspen Institute, author of Codebook
2 hours ago - Technology

How overhyping became an election meddling tool

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

As online platforms and intelligence officials get more sophisticated about detecting and stamping out election meddling campaigns, bad actors are increasingly seeing the appeal of instead exaggerating their own interference capabilities to shake Americans' confidence in democracy.

Why it matters: It doesn't take a sophisticated operation to sow seeds of doubt in an already fractious and factionalized U.S. Russia proved that in 2016, and fresh schemes aimed at the 2020 election may already be proving it anew.

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