Washington: President Joe Biden warned on Tuesday that Russia is attempting to use disinformation to interfere in the 2022 U.S. midterm elections.
Russia’s efforts are “a clear violation of our sovereignty,” Biden said in a speech at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in McLean, Virginia. He cited it as an example of the information he gleaned from his daily intelligence briefing earlier in the day as he thanked the intelligence community for its work.
President Vladimir Putin “knows you’re better than his team and it bothers the hell out of him,” Biden told intelligence staff who were listening to the speech from around the world. The Russian leader is dangerous because he has nuclear weapons, oil and “nothing else,” Biden added.
Russia has repeatedly denied interfering in U.S. elections.
Biden also touched on Chinese leader Xi Jinping, saying he is “deadly” earnest about making his nation the world’s dominant economic and military power.
The public seldom gets insights into the president’s daily brief, a key intelligence community product prepared for the president and a handful of top advisers. Biden’s team has made a point of emphasizing his regular briefings by intelligence officials after criticism that former President Donald Trump seldom received the reports.
Biden’s remarks come after he met Putin in Switzerland last month, with the two leaders both praising their discussions as helpful in setting guardrails and easing tensions in the relationship. Putin even praised Biden after the summit, calling him a “professional” and adding “he doesn’t let anything get by, I assure you.” –Bloomberg
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