RUTHFULLY YOURS

The office of Ohio governor Mike DeWine is not disclosing which country is responsible for some of the bomb-threat hoaxes called into Springfield schools. The aim is to “discourage further threats to the schools and other buildings.”

This is more than a little frustrating because the general public already has a short suspect list. The FBI has already publicly discussed the desire of Russia, China, and Iran to influence the 2024 election and how “sowing discord and undermining democracy is consistent across the board.” Earlier this month, an official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told reporters:

The big three foreign influence actors, Russia, Iran, and China are all trying by some measure to exacerbate divisions in U.S. society for their own benefit, and see election periods as moments of vulnerability. These actors most likely judge that amplifying controversial issues and rhetoric that seeks to divide Americans can serve their interests by making the U.S. and its democratic system look weak, and by keeping the U.S. Government distracted with internal issues instead of pushing back on their hostile behavior globally.

…The IC continues to assess that Russia is the pre-eminent and most active foreign influence threat to this year’s U.S. elections. Russia is looking to amplify divisive rhetoric and influence electoral outcomes, which both speak to Moscow’s broader foreign policy goals of weakening the United States and undermining Washington’s support for Ukraine.

Now moving to Iran, the IC assesses that Iran is making a greater effort than in the past to influence this year’s elections, even as its tactics and approaches are similar to prior cycles. Like Russia, Iran has a multi-pronged approach that looks to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our electoral process.

China, for its part, is focused on influencing down-ballot races. The IC continues to assess that China is not attempting to influence the presidential race. China is also continuing its longstanding efforts to build relationships with U.S. officials and entities at state and local levels because it perceives Washington as largely opposed to China. This view likely informs Beijing’s greater interest in some non-presidential races. The IC is aware of PRC attempts to influence U.S. down-ballot races by focusing on candidates it views as particularly threatening to core PRC security interests. China’s influence actors have also continued small-scale efforts in social media to engage U.S. audiences on divisive political issues, including protests about the Israel-Gaza conflict, and promote negative stories about both political parties.

Note that the Iranians have already hacked the Trump campaign.

One of the big three just crossed a line and decided to mess with American schoolchildren.

It’s good that the Ohio state troopers will be patrolling the schools in Springfield, and “that they will go through the building before anybody enters that building, to make sure there is no problem,” as DeWine described. But what, if anything, is our government doing to shut down these foreign-based hoaxsters who decided kids in a small town in Ohio made a good target for their efforts to sow division and fear? U.S. Cyber Command has considerable abilities to ruin the days of foreign cyber operators.

Are we punching back against the perpetrators of these bomb threat hoaxes? And if not, why not?

Also, why are we learning about this from the governor of Ohio? This is a national security matter — shouldn’t we be hearing about this from the president? Has anyone checked in on the president lately?