Criminal interference in US elections and protests – Twin Cities

In 2016, Russians interfered in the US presidential election by stealing Democratic emails and computer files and publishing them to WikiLeaks in an attempt to embarrass the party and damage candidate Hillary Clinton.

The culprit was the FSB, the Kremlin’s successor to the KGB, the old Cold War spy agency where Vladimir Putin rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel before entering politics. Several Russians have been charged with this flagrant violation of American sovereignty.

This time, it’s America’s adversaries in Tehran who are interfering in our democratic process. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have jointly concluded that Iranian agents effectively stole Trump campaign emails and computer files. They most likely gained access through GOP activist Roger Stone, who was pardoned by Trump in the final weeks of his presidency.

The feds also believe the Iranians tried to hack into the Democratic campaign, but apparently failed. At least they were bipartisan.

However, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines last month publicly acknowledged that Iran had effectively manipulated protests against Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, saying, “We have observed actors associated with the Iranian government impersonating activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protesters.”

That is why Iran arms and funds Hamas (as well as Hezbollah and the Houthis), and then helps organize street protests on the streets and campuses of America to support their cause.

Americans have many opinions on presidential policies and the war in Gaza, and it should not be the case that the mullahs are pulling strings to achieve their goals. This is a federal crime and a very hostile act by a hostile government.

They do not fire rockets or plant bombs like their proxies against Israel, but this is nonetheless a planned and destructive attack on that country.

The Trump campaign was genuinely honest when it said it was a victim of Iranians who may be trying to defeat the former president, who promised to toughen up on Tehran, or perhaps are simply trying to sow discord and cause division in the country by not taking sides in the election.

But their motives for supporting the Gaza protests are much more obvious. Iran supports Hamas and opposes Israel. Americans marching and rallying in unison serve their needs perfectly. We assume that most protesters are not willing dupes of Iran’s foreign policy and should oppose being exploited.

The Iranians, like the Russians, are trying to use our freedom of speech, assembly, and elections against us, to pursue their own goals – goals that are contrary to U.S. national interests.

Terrorists like Hamas look for easy targets to attack, like a music festival for young people. The mullahs see our open society as an easy target. But they are wrong. It is very difficult, the foundation that we have built for almost 250 years in this experiment of self-government. Iran cannot defeat it if we do not allow them to.

—New York Daily News