Democrats on intelligence committees ready for possible Trump claims of foreign election meddling

House and Senate intelligence committee chairs said they are operating under the assumption that President Trump will claim fraud or foreign meddling to justify election interference in this year’s midterms.

"We start with the premise that the president is going to do that. It would be irresponsible not to, speaking as somebody who was in the chamber on January 6, 2021," Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., said.

Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, added that the president could invoke foreign interference as a pretext.

"If, at noon on Election Day, the president announced that the Iranians have undertaken operation, I'm on TV saying 'I'm Gang of Eight and I have received no such briefing, no such information, and I have no reason to believe that this is accurate.'" Himes said.

The lawmakers said they have asked Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton for the statutory pre-election intelligence briefings and have not received all required reports. They noted that a classified summary received on Tuesday described ongoing Russian, Chinese and Iranian influence campaigns, but they have not seen evidence of direct interference with voting infrastructure.

Both Himes and Warner emphasized the need for rapid communication with intelligence officials on Election Day and highlighted broader efforts by more than 75 groups to safeguard election integrity. Warner said the responsibility to protect democracy extends to the press and the public, and expressed optimism that lawmakers across the aisle would speak up if problems arise.