Election security hearing breaks along stark partisan lines

WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional hearing on election security broke Tuesday along stark political lines, highlighting the difficulties in getting lawmakers to address the threat outlined by federal officials who have warned that Russia and other adversaries are looking to interfere in the 2020 election and illicitly shape voter opinion.

The divide was on display Tuesday at a House Judiciary Committee hearing, which also underscored the absence of bipartisan consensus about the foreign threat to American voting and about how best to safeguard the country’s election system heading into next year’s vote.

Democrats largely confined their questioning to the ambitions and capabilities of foreign governments and pressed federal officials about whether they had the resources they need to prepare for and respond to any potential problems. Multiple Republicans, on the other hand, used the hearing to call into question the integrity of the FBI, with several bringing up Peter Strzok — the agent fired last year for derogatory text messages about President Donald Trump that he sent while helping lead the investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

The hearing featured testimony of witnesses from agencies including the FBI, Justice Department and Homeland Security Department.

Though the hearing was about election security ahead of next year’s vote, it was also impossible to untangle it from contemporary politics and the ongoing impeachment inquiry led by House Democrats.

At one point, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the committee chairman, asked the four witnesses if they believed that it was appropriate for an American president to ask a foreign government to investigate a political rival. That was a reference to Trump’s prodding, in a July phone call, of his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Democrat Joe Biden.

Three of the four government witnesses answered “no.” Adam Hickey, a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s national security division, said he would not comment on the president’s activities, though he did later say that anyone who suspects improper foreign influence should contact federal law enforcement.