Intel Democrats prepare for Trump to claim foreign meddling : NPR

Key Points:

• Top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees are preparing for President Trump and allies to allege fraud in the midterms to justify election interference, based on lessons from January 6, 2021.
• Lawmakers Jim Himes and Mark Warner have urged intelligence leaders to be immediately reachable on and after Election Day to address any claims of foreign interference or attempts to challenge election results.
• Despite ongoing contact with Trump administration intelligence officials, Democrats say they have not received all legally mandated pre-election reports on foreign election meddling, though they recently got a classified briefing detailing typical Russian, Chinese, and Iranian influence efforts.
• Himes emphasized that while foreign influence campaigns persist, there is no current evidence of actual interference with election infrastructure such as voting machines or rolls.
• Warner highlighted a coordinated election integrity effort involving over 75 groups and called on lawmakers, the press, and the public to be vigilant in protecting democracy from potential post-election disputes.