Vice President Mike Pence sharply rebuked Russia on Tuesday during a speech in New York City, calling the Kremlin's attempt to "sow discord and division" in the U.S. by meddling in the 2016 presidential election "an affront to our democracy and it will not be allowed," per a report in The Hill.
Pence, who was the keynote speaker at a Department of Homeland Security-sponsored National Cyber Summit, also reiterated President Donald Trump's comments regarding the intelligence communities' conclusion Russia did interfere – remarks Trump made after he was criticized for saying he saw no reason why Russia would be responsible for interfering during a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin a month ago.
"While other nations certainly possess the capability, the fact is, Russia meddled in our 2016 elections," Pence said. "That is the unambiguous judgment of the intelligence community and as the president said, we accept the intelligence community's conclusion.
"Russia's goal was to sow discord and division and to weaken the American people's faith in our democracy. And, while no actual votes were changed, any attempt to interfere in our elections is an affront to our democracy, and it will not be allowed," Pence continued.
The vice president also said the Trump administration takes seriously the threat of election interference, and the U.S. government would "continue to work tirelessly to prevent foreign nations and malign actors from hacking into our election infrastructure and changing votes or election outcomes."
His comments follow a report by Facebook it had uncovered "sophisticated" efforts, possibly linked to Russia, to influence U.S. politics on its platforms.
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