Trump Spy Chief Says Russia Hasn't Paid Price for 2016 Meddling

• February 27 2018
• Nafeesa Syeed

The U.S. government hasn’t done enough to deter Russia from using cyber and information operations to interfere again in American democracy, according to the head of National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command.

The U.S. government hasn’t done enough to deter Russia from using cyber and information operations to interfere again in American democracy, according to the head of National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command.

Steps so far, such as sanctions and indictments targeting Russians for tampering with the 2016 presidential campaign, haven’t “changed the calculus or the behavior” in Moscow, Admiral Michael Rogers told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday. “They haven’t paid a price at least that’s sufficient to get them to change their behavior,” he said, adding later that “we’re taking steps, but we’re probably not doing enough.”

The warning by Rogers, an Obama-era appointee who’s planning to retire within months, sparked concern by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers. It echoed alarm voiced after Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats acknowledged at a hearing on Feb. 13 that “there’s no single agency in charge” of blocking potential Russian meddling in this year’s midterm elections. Primaries begin next month in Illinois and Texas.

Related story: States Rush to Defend 2018 Election From Russia

Rogers, too, said he hasn’t received any direction or additional authority from the White House to take specific action against Russia for the meddling, which U.S. intelligence agencies have found was aimed at helping Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton for the presidency in 2016.

‘Laughing’ in Moscow

As president, Trump has dismissed as a “witch hunt” Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether anyone close to him or his campaign colluded with the Russians, and he has scoffed at the inquiries into meddling. In a tweet on Feb. 18, Trump wrote, “If it was the GOAL of Russia to create discord, disruption and chaos within the U.S. then, with all of the Committee Hearings, Investigations and Party hatred, they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. They are laughing their asses off in Moscow. Get smart America!”

Cyber Command is doing “some specific work” countering Russian meddling that’s allowed under its mandate, Rogers said. While the Department of Homeland Security is in charge of working with state election officials, he said, Cyber Command is helping to provide insight on threats.

“The notion that you have not been given this mission to stop this from happening this year is outrageous,” Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, said. “The only entity that can go after Russia is the United States military.”

Rogers said he hadn’t read the Feb. 16 indictment from Mueller charging 13 Russians with interfering in the 2016 presidential campaigns in a conspiracy of bogus social-media postings. 

President Vladimir “Putin has clearly come to the conclusion there’s little price to pay here,” and the Russian leader thinks, “I can continue this activity,” Rogers said. “If we don’t change the dynamic here, this is going to continue and 2016 won’t be viewed as something isolated” but instead it will be “sustained over time,” he said.

A confirmation hearing for Army Lieutenant General Paul Nakasone, who’s nominated to succeed Rogers, is scheduled for Thursday.