2026年10月23日 美国东部时间下午5:26 / CBS新闻
作者：
奥利维亚·加齐斯为CBS新闻报道情报与国际安全事务。她两次获得艾美奖提名，曾随国务卿赴全球各地报道，为CBS新闻的广播、电台、在线及流媒体平台提供有关情报、外交政策及其他安全议题的报道。
众议院和参议院情报委员会的民主党高层称，他们正在为特朗普总统做出“外国干预”的指控以挑战下个月的中期选举这一可能性做准备。
这些议员表示，近期的情报评估并未显示外国有操纵投票机制或计票的迹象。但特朗普先生及其盟友有提出选民欺诈和选举干预指控的既定历史。
弗吉尼亚州参议员马克·沃纳和康涅狄格州众议员吉姆·海姆斯本周表示，他们已要求中央情报局局长约翰·拉特克利夫和国家情报总监杰伊·克莱顿在选举日保持电话畅通，寻求直接获取高级情报官员的权限，这些官员可帮助实时核查总统或其政府做出的任何外国干预指控。
“我们可以要求的是，这些情报的依据是什么？这些情报的来源是什么？”沃纳表示。
“我们假设总统不会接受这场对他和他的政党而言都颇具挑战性的选举结果，”海姆斯在周三告诉记者，“我们已经就诸多场景进行了兵棋推演并开展了相关训练。”
如果民主党在11月同时控制参众两院，这些议员可能会成为各自委员会的主席。他们表示，担心特朗普可能会援引伪造或选择性呈现的情报来质疑选举结果，或为包括试图扣押选票或投票设备在内的联邦紧急干预措施辩护。
不过海姆斯补充称，最近与职业情报官员的会面让他相信，分析人员会抵制制造外国干预证据的压力。
在7月的黄金时段讲话中，特朗普先生引用了关于中国获取美国选民数据的解密情报，以引发对选举安全的担忧。他公布的材料并未显示北京篡改了选票或选举结果，而且目前尚不清楚中国获取的选民数据中有多少是公开可得的，尽管白宫表示其中包括非公开数据。
国家情报总监办公室的一位发言人告诉CBS新闻，克莱顿自7月获得确认以来，“已向众议院情报委员会和参议院情报特别委员会的领导层明确表示，他可全天候为他们处理任何问题”。
中央情报局的一位发言人表示：“拉特克利夫局长对中央情报局的监督委员会负责，并将继续在适当情况下保持随时可用。”
CBS新闻已联系白宫征求置评。
沃纳和海姆斯表示，在情报部门仍在追踪针对美国选民的外国影响力行动之际，议员们正做相关准备，但迄今为止未发现任何干扰选举机制的计划的证据。
情报部门区分了两种情况：外国影响力旨在动摇选民或破坏对选举的信任；而外国干预则针对投票的技术层面，包括投票机和登记系统。
“目前没有任何迹象表明存在干预的能力或意图，”海姆斯说，他将这一评估与“相当强劲的影响力环境”进行了对比。
他表示，近期的情报评估观察到俄罗斯、伊朗和中国正在开展影响力行动，还有包括朝鲜在内的其他一些行为体在权衡潜在行动。
沃纳称，俄罗斯在本次选举周期中正在推进“与以往类似”的行动，包括针对民主党的行动。海姆斯补充说，俄罗斯的行动“也以两党一致的方式高度关注对乌克兰持强硬态度的个人和事务”。
沃纳表示，伊朗行为体“正在欧洲寻找破坏机会”，而中国的行动更具选择性，针对的是地方选举。
在2024年选举前，美国情报官员评估称，莫斯科支持特朗普的候选资格，而德黑兰支持他的民主党对手卡玛拉·哈里斯。伊朗特工还被指控通过网络行动（包括入侵特朗普的竞选团队）针对总统竞选活动。
美国情报部门还发现，俄罗斯曾试图影响2020年选举以支持特朗普的竞选，而伊朗则试图诋毁特朗普的竞选。情报机构发现“没有迹象表明任何外国行为体试图改变投票过程的任何技术层面”，包括选民登记或计票。
沃纳和海姆斯表示，国会尚未收到法律要求的数份与选举相关的情报评估报告，包括选举日120天、60天和30天前到期的报告。各委员会本周收到了一份机密更新，众议院委员会预计下周还会收到另一场两党情况介绍会。
他们将这些逾期更新归咎于克莱顿在国家情报总监办公室的前任——图尔西·加巴德和比尔·普尔特，二人担任代理职务。
“前两位国家情报总监对此毫无兴趣遵守法律，”沃纳说，同时也承认克莱顿已为解决部分不足做出了努力。
这些议员还对联邦政府检测和应对选举威胁的能力减弱表示担忧，国家情报总监办公室的外国恶意影响中心被削减，以及协助州和地方官员保护选举基础设施的网络安全和基础设施安全局的人员大幅减少。
海姆斯警告称，技术专长的流失可能会削弱政府检测外国威胁的能力，即便职业情报分析人员仍致力于产出客观评估。
“你可以借助国家情报总监办公室或中央情报局的忠诚分析人员开展大量工作，”海姆斯说，“如果你没有技术人才来识别技术层面的东西——无论是情报收集还是情报开发——那你就会面临巨大问题。”
Top intel Democrats say they’ve “war-gamed” how to react if Trump alleges foreign interference in midterms
October 23, 2026 / 5:26 PM EDT / CBS News
By
Olivia Gazis covers intelligence and international security matters for CBS News. Twice Emmy-nominated, she has traveled worldwide with the secretary of state and contributes reporting on intelligence, foreign policy and other security topics across CBS News broadcast, radio, online and streaming platforms.
The top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees say they are preparing for the possibility that President Trump makes claims of foreign interference to challenge next month’s midterm elections.
The lawmakers said recent intelligence assessments show no indication of foreign efforts to manipulate voting machinery or vote counts. But Mr. Trump and his allies have an established history of raising claims about voter fraud and election interference.
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia and Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut said this week they have asked CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to be reachable by phone on Election Day, seeking direct access to the senior intelligence officials who could help verify, in real time, any claims of foreign interference made by the president or his administration.
“What we can demand is, what is the basis of this intelligence? What is the source of this intelligence?” Warner said.
“We’re making the assumption that the president is not going to accept the results of what looks to be a very challenging election for him and his party,” Himes told reporters on Wednesday. “There’s a wide array of scenarios that we have war-gamed and trained for.”
The lawmakers, who could become chairmen of their respective committees if Democrats win control of both chambers in November, said they are concerned Mr. Trump could cite fabricated or selectively presented intelligence to cast doubt on election results or justify extraordinary federal intervention, potentially including attempts to seize ballots or voting equipment.
Himes added, however, that recent meetings with career intelligence officials had given him confidence that analysts would resist pressure to manufacture evidence of foreign interference.
In a July prime-time address, Mr. Trump cited declassified intelligence about China’s acquisition of American voter data to raise concerns about election security. The material he released did not show that Beijing had altered votes or election results, and it is not clear how much of the voter data acquired by China was publicly available, though the White House has said it included nonpublic data.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told CBS News that Clayton, since his confirmation in July, “has made it clear to the leadership of the House Intelligence Committee and Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that he is available to them 24/7 on any issue.”
A CIA spokesperson said: “Director Ratcliffe is responsive to CIA’s Oversight Committees and will continue to be available as appropriate.”
CBS News has reached out to the White House for comment.
The lawmakers’ preparations come as the intelligence community continues to track foreign influence operations aimed at American voters, but to date has identified no evidence of plans to interfere with the mechanics of the election, Warner and Himes said.
The intelligence community distinguishes between foreign influence, which is aimed at swaying voters or undermining confidence in elections, and interference, which involves targeting the technical aspects of voting, including voting machines and registration systems.
“Nothing out there suggests that there is either the capability or the intent to do interference,” Himes said, contrasting that assessment with a “pretty robust influence environment.”
He said recent intelligence assessments had observed influence efforts underway by Russia, Iran and China, with a “grab bag” of other actors, including North Korea, weighing potential action.
Warner said Russia was pursuing operations this cycle “similar to prior occasions,” including efforts targeting Democrats. Himes added that Russian campaigns “are also particularly focused in a bipartisan way on people and things that have been aggressive on Ukraine.”
Iranian actors are “looking at disruption in Europe,” Warner said, while Chinese operations have been more selective and aimed at local races.
Ahead of the 2024 election, U.S. intelligence officials assessed that Moscow favored Mr. Trump’s candidacy, while Tehran favored his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris. Iranian operatives were also accused of targeting presidential campaigns through cyber operations, including the compromise of Mr. Trump’s campaign.
The U.S. intelligence community also found that Russia tried to influence the 2020 election to support the Trump campaign, while Iran sought to denigrate the Trump campaign. Intelligence agencies found “no indications that any foreign actor attempted to alter any technical aspect of the voting process,” including voter registration or vote-counting.
Warner and Himes said Congress has yet to receive several election-related intelligence assessments required by law, including reports due 120, 60 and 30 days before Election Day. The committees received a classified update this week, and the House panel expects another bipartisan briefing next week.
They blamed the overdue updates on the tenures of Clayton’s predecessors at ODNI — Tulsi Gabbard and Bill Pulte, who held the role in an acting capacity.
“The previous two DNIs had zero interest in complying with the law here,” Warner said, while acknowledging that Clayton had made an effort to address some of the deficiencies.
The lawmakers also expressed concern about what they described as a weakening of the federal government’s capacity to detect and counter election threats, with reductions to the Foreign Malign Influence Center at ODNI, as well as a significant staffing reduction at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which helps state and local officials protect election infrastructure.
Himes warned that the loss of technical expertise could undermine the government’s ability to detect foreign threats, even if career intelligence analysts remain committed to producing objective assessments.
“You can do a lot of work with loyal analysts at ODNI or at CIA,” Himes said. “If you don’t have the technical talent to identify technical — either collection or exploitation — you have a huge problem.”