>>> SENIOR HOUSE DEMOCRATS ARE SOUNDING THE ALARM OVER REPORTS
THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP IS PLANNING
TO PULL THE U.S. OUT OF
SOMETHING CALLED THE OPEN SKIES
TREATY.
TREATY. IT’S AN AGREEMENT THAT ALLOWS
FOR UNARMED RECONNAISSANCE
FLIGHTS OVER OTHER COUNTRIES,
SPECIFICALLY EACH OTHER’S
COUNTRIES LIKE RUSSIA AND
UKRAINE TO MONITOR MILITARY
MOVEMENT.
MOVEMENT. IN A LETTER TO THE WHITE HOUSE,
FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE CHAIR
ELIOT ENGEL, DEMOCRAT OF NEW
YORK WARNED LEAVING THE TREATY
WOULD BE, QUOTE, A RECKLESS
ACTION THAT WOULD ONLY BENEFIT
RUSSIA.
RUSSIA. PUTIN HATES THIS TREATY.
THE WARNING COMES AS THE
PRESIDENT IS PEDDLING A
CONSPIRACY THEORY THAT IT WAS
REALLY UKRAINE THAT INTERFERED
IN OUR 2016 ELECTION.
JUST TODAY THE SENATE CAME OUT,
HOWEVER, WITH A BIPARTISAN
REPORT UNEQUIVOCALLY CONDEMNING
THE KREMLIN FOR TRYING TO HELP
DONALD TRUMP AND HURT HILLARY
CLINTON.
CLINTON. AGAIN, AND FOR EMPHASIS, WHILE
THE WORDS "SENATE REPORT" MAY
NOT HAVE THE IMPACT THEY ONCE
DID, THE FOLLOWING WAS PUT OUT
BY REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS IN
AN ERA WHEN REPUBLICANS AND
DEMOCRATS DON’T DO ANYTHING
JOINTLY.
JOINTLY. ACCORDING TO THIS REPORT, AND WE
QUOTE, RUSSIA’S TARGETING OF THE
2016 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
WAS PART OF A BROADER
SOPHISTICATED AND ONGOING
INFORMATION WARFARE CAMPAIGN.
GOES ON TO SAY RUSSIA’S EFFORTS
WERE A VASTLY MORE COMPLEX AND
STRATEGIC ASSAULT ON THE UNITED
STATES THAN WAS INITIALLY
UNDERSTOOD.
UNDERSTOOD. MUCH OF THIS WAS LAID OUT IN THE
MUELLER REPORT, BUT THIS IS THE
FIRST, AGAIN, BIPARTISAN CALL
FROM CONGRESS, AT LEAST ON THE
SENATE SIDE, FOR SWEEPING
ACTION.
ACTION. REPUBLICAN SENATOR RICHARD BURR,
REPUBLICAN SENATOR FROM NORTH
CAROLINA HAD THIS WARNING.
QUOTE, WHILE RUSSIA MAY HAVE
BEEN THE FIRST TO HONE THE
MODERN DISINFORMATION TACTICS
OUTLINED IN THIS REPORT, OTHER
ADVERSARIES, INCLUDING CHINA,
NEW YORK,
NEW YORK, NORTH KOREA AND IRAN ARE
FOLLOWING SUIT.
FOLLOWING SUIT. CLINT WATTS, DISTINGUISHED
RESEARCH FELLOW AT THE FOREIGN
POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE AND
AUTHOR OF "MESSING WITH THE
ENEMY: SURVIVING IN A SOCIAL
MEDIA WORLD OF HACKER,
TERRORIST, RUSSIANS, AND FAKE
NEWS."
NEWS." CLINT, IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT
YOUR AREA OF EXPERTISE IS NOW
PART OF A BIPARTISAN SENATE
REPORT.
REPORT. IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE THIS KIND
OF THING ISN’T OUR LEAD STORY IN
2019.
2019. SO LET ME ASK YOU, HOW ARE WE
GOING TO BUMP UP AGAINST THIS IN
2020?
2020? HOW BIG A THREAT IS THIS?
>> IT’S REMARKABLE WHEN YOU GET
TO THE END OF THE REPORT.
THAT’S WHAT I WAS REALLY LOOKING
FOR.
FOR. BECAUSE WE’VE HEARD SO MUCH
ABOUT THIS OVER THE LAST TWO
YEARS IS WHAT ARE WE GOING TO
DO.
DO. WE’VE HAD ALL OF THESE HEARINGS
AND COMMITTEES, MULTIPLE
ENTITIES, OTHER COUNTRIES EVEN
HELPING US WITH THIS STUFF.
AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS WHEN YOU
GOT TO THE END IS LET’S INCREASE
PUBLIC LITERACY.
PUBLIC LITERACY. LET’S PUT OUT AWARENESS.
SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES, YOU NEED
TO DO SOMEBODY IT.
SO WHEN YOU GET TO THE END, YOU
REALLY GO HMM, IT SOUNDS LIKE
WE’RE NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING.
HONEST ADS ACT.
WE TALKED ABOUT THAT.
THIS IS DECLARING THEIR ADDS TO
HELP DISTINGUISH MOTHERS, STILL
NOT PASSED.
NOT PASSED. >> SHOULD BE EASY.
>> ELECTION INTEGRITY ACT, NOT
PASSED.
PASSED. >> SHOULD BE EDS.
>> OTHER PROVISIONS, DO YOU TAKE
ASSISTANCE FROM A FOREIGN
GOVERNMENT IN ORDER TO WIN AN
ELECTION, AS WE CAN SEE FROM OUR
CURRENT NEWS CYCLE.
I GUESS WE’RE GOING WILLINGLY GO
LOOK FOR THAT STUFF.
SO I THINK WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE
SOCIAL MEDIA PART, WHO HAS
ACTUALLY STEPPED UP SURPRISINGLY
ARE THE SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES
IN MANY WAYS.
THEY’RE DOING WEEKLY, IF NOT
DAILY TAKEDOWNS OFTENTIMES
BETWEEN FACEBOOK, TWITTER,
GOOGLE, YOUTUBE, OTHER
PLATFORMS.
PLATFORMS. THEY’RE DOING THIS SORT OF
STUFF.
STUFF. BUT TO STAY IN FRONT OF IT,
ULTIMATELY COMES DOWN TO WHO IS
GOING TO POLICE DISINFORMATION
GOING INTO THE 2020 ELECTION.
ESPECIALLY WHEN WE SEE NOT ONLY
THESE FOREIGN COUNTRIES THAT
CHAIRMAN BURR MENTIONED, BUT
DOMESTIC ACTORS ARE ON THE SCENE
NOW IN A BIG, BIG WAY DOING
DISINFORMATION AND
DISINFORMATION AND MISINFORMATION.
MISINFORMATION. HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THIS?
AND THEN IT REALLY COMES DOWN
CAPITOL HILL AND THE WHITE
HOUSE.
HOUSE. AND IT SEEMS LIKE ON BOTH SIDES
OF THE ENDS OF PENNSYLVANIA
AVENUE, WE’RE SEEING A RAMP-UP
OF THAT RHETORIC INSTEAD OF
ACTUALLY TRYING TO TAMP IT DOWN.
>> AND I WAS GOING TO SAY, WHAT
ABOUT THE BACKDROP WE’RE
OPERATING UNDER RIGHT NOW?
DOJ’S GOT ITS OWN REPORT COMING
OUT THAT MAY READ LIKE SOMETHING
OF A WEIRD REBUTTAL TO THIS.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IS FLYING
AROUND THE WORLD, TALKING TO
FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS ABOUT HEY,
CAN YOU DROP A DIME ON PEOPLE ON
THE HOME TEAM BACK IN THE UNITED
STATES.
STATES. THAT’S DANGEROUS.
THAT’S DANGEROUS. >> AND EVEN PRESSURING THE
AUSTRALIANS WHO WERE THE FIRST
TO REALLY TIP OFF THE FBI THAT
THERE WAS AN INVESTIGATION WE
SHOULD MAYBE EVEN LOOK INTO.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT WHOLE
SYSTEM, IT EVEN GIVES OUR
ADVERSARIES GREAT OPPORTUNITIES.
IMAGINE RUSSIA RIGHT NOW.
I’M NOT SAYING THEY’VE DONE
THIS, BUT WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY IN
UKRAINE YOU.
UKRAINE YOU. HAVE YOU THE PRESIDENT, YOU
KNOW, REACHING OUT TO UKRAINE,
WANTING DIRT ON HIS OPPONENT.
WELL, IF I WAS RUSSIA, WHAT
WOULD I DO?
I WOULD GO TO UKRAINE AND I
WOULD DUMP ALL SORTS OF DIRT IN
THERE.
THERE. YOU CAN DO THIS FROM AFAR.
YOU CAN DO THIS FROM THIRD PARTY
COUNTRIES.
COUNTRIES. YOU CAN MESS WITH THE AMERICAN
ELECTION.
ELECTION. WE’VE SEEN JUST HOW POWERFUL IT
IS AT DIVIDING US GOING FORWARD.
SO I THINK THE ONE PART THAT
STUCK OUT THERE WAS A NOTE IN
THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT SAID WE
ENCOURAGE POLITICIANS, POLITICAL
CAMPAIGNS TO BE VERY THOROUGH
ABOUT WHAT THEY’RE RETWEETING,
WHAT THEY’RE AMPLIFYING AND WHAT
THEY’RE SAYING IN ATTACKING EACH
OTHER.
OTHER. AND WHAT WE’RE SEEING IS THAT’S
WHERE THE BIG WEAKNESS IS IN OUR
DEMOCRACY GOING INTO 2020.
>> FINAL POINT, THIS ISN’T HARD.
RUSSIA SPENT $4 A DAY AND
COMPLETELY BOLLOCKSED UP OUR
SOCIETY AND OUR ELECTORAL
PROCESS.
PROCESS. AND WE’RE AN EASY MARK BECAUSE
WE -- WE’RE GOOD PEOPLE.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. >> WE BELIEVE IN A FREE AND OPEN
SOCIETY AND MEDIUM.
>> YEAH, OUR STRENGTHS ARE
VULNERABILITIES IN THIS, BUT IT
ONLY COMES DOWN TO ULTIMATELY IS
LEADERSHIP.
LEADERSHIP. IF CAMPAIGNS SAID I’M NOT GOING
TO TAKE HELP FROM A FOREIGN
COUNTRY TO WIN AGAINST MY
OPPONENT, I’M NOT GOING RETWEET
NONSENSE OR MANIPULATE THE MEDIA
OR SPED UP VIDEO OR SOMETHING OF
NANCY PELOSI THAT ISN’T EXACTLY
AUTHENTIC, WELL, THEN THIS WOULD
PROBABLY WORK ITSELF OUT.
I WON’T TAKE STOLEN OR I WON’T
TALK ABOUT STOLEN INFORMATION
FROM ANOTHER CAMPAIGN.
THIS WOULD WORK ITSELF OUT.
BEING HELD TO THE TRUTH, BEING
THE BEARERS OF FACTS, BEING THE
GOVERNMENT WE CAN TRUST TO DO
THE BEST FOR ALL AMERICANS, IF
THEY JUST DID THAT ONE STEP,
THIS WOULD BE COMPLETELY
INEFFECTIVE, AND YOU WOULD NOT
SEE A RUSSIA, IRAN, A CHINA OR
ANY OTHER COUNTRY BE ABLE TO
INFLUENCE US FROM AFAR.
>> IT WAS NICE TO GET THIS