Bob Woodward contains new allegations that Russia had infiltrated election systems in Florida.
The veteran Washington Post reporter’s new book, “Rage,” contains new allegations about Russian efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election, which adds new details to longstanding claims about foreign interference.
According to Woodward, “the NSA and CIA have classified evidence the Russians had placed malware in the election registration systems of at least two Florida counties, St. Lucie and Washington,” CNN reported. “While there was no evidence the malware had been activated, Woodward writes, it was sophisticated and could erase voters in specific districts. The voting system vendor used by Florida was also used in states across the country.”
Harry Reid, the former Senate majority leader, has claimed that Russia manipulated vote totals by infiltrating some elections systems.
A Senate Intelligence Committee investigation found no evidence that votes had been changed, although special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation found Kremlin intelligence accessed some election systems.
“Russian intelligence obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple US state or local electoral boards,” Mueller’s report said. “DHS assesses that the types of systems Russian actors targeted or compromised were not involved in vote tallying.”
Former defense contractor Reality Winner was sentenced in 2018 to 63 months in prison for leaking NSA documents related to Russian efforts to hack a voting equipment vendor in Florida in the days ahead of the 2016 election.