What is the extent of Russian interference in the 2016 election?
One month ago, the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington held a hearing on Russian election hacking, and the expert testimony wasn’t all that reassuring.
Because while federal officials assure us that they didn’t succeed, one expert left us with more questions about the integrity of our 2016 vote. He should know, because J. Alex Halderman is a professor of computer science at the University of Michigan and director of the Center for Computer Security and Society. He’s been hacking election systems for years and says you can do it without leaving a trace.
“I know firsthand how easy it can be to manipulate computerized voting machines,” he told the committee in his opening statement.
Halderman also warned our election infrastructure “is not as distant from the Internet as it may seem.”
He explained that before every election, voting machines are programmed with the ballot design.
“This programming is created on a desktop computer called an election management system, or EMS, and then transferred to voting machines using USB sticks or memory cards, he said. “These systems are generally run by county IT personnel or by private contractors. Unfortunately, election management systems are not adequately protected, and they are not always properly isolated from the Internet.” Watch his testimony here.
A new poll shows that President Trump’s supporters are not moved by recent revelations in news stories about Russia
President Trump is seeking advice about whether he has the power to pardon his family, his aides, and others who might be the target of the investigations into Russian meddling in the election and Trump’s business dealings.
But a new survey by Public Policy Polling (PPP) found that:
- Only 45% of Trump voters believe Donald Trump Jr. had a meeting with Russians about information that might be harmful to Hillary Clinton – even though Trump Jr. admitted it; 32% say the meeting didn’t happen and 24% say they’re not sure.
- 72% of Trump voters consider the Russia story overall to be ‘fake news;’ only 14% disagree.
- Only 24% of Trump voters even want an investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia; 64% are opposed to an investigation.
- Only 26% of Trump voters admit that Russia wanted Trump to win the election, 44% claim Russia wanted Hillary Clinton to win, and 31% say they’re not sure one way or the other.
- Even if there was an investigation, and it found that the Trump campaign did collude with Russia to aid his campaign, 77% of his supporters think he should still stay in office to just 16% who believe he should resign.
To listen to this interview from Friday, July 21, 2017 click here.
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