Rep. Johnson Statement on review of Election-Related Hacking

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04), a member of the House Judiciary Committee released a statement supporting the Obama administration’s review of cyber-attacks in the 2016 election.

“Throughout history nations have engaged in espionage while deliberately disseminating false ideas, rumors and disinformation about adversaries to gain military, diplomatic and economic advantage,” said Rep. Johnson, who in September introduced the “Election Infrastructure and Security Promotion Act of 2016” (H.R. 6073) and the “Election Integrity Act of 2016” (H.R. 6072) that would designate the nation's voting systems as critical infrastructure and require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to submit to Congress a comprehensive plan on protecting critical electoral process from a variety of threats, including cyber terrorism and hacking.

“The use of the Internet and the ascension of social media have compounded the opportunities for such activities, and the recent presidential election may have been affected by such tactics in a way that our government was not prepared to defend against.”

President Barack Obama has ordered a "full review" of hacking-relating activity aimed at disrupting last month's presidential election. U.S. intelligence officials have blamed the Russian government for pre-election hacking of Democratic officials and political committees.

Several Democratic leaders have asked President Obama to declassify more details about the attacks and why the U.S. concluded the Russians were behind them.

"This threat to our elections demands serious analysis and swift action. I commend the President for calling on the U.S. federal government to identify any possible interference with our democratic process,” Rep. Johnson said. “We must not hesitate to pursue measures that will protect the security and integrity of our electoral process.”

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