17 July,2026 10:04 AM IST | Washington | mid-day online correspondent
US President Donald Trump. Pic/AFP
US President Donald Trump has ordered the release of a large set of declassified intelligence and law enforcement documents that he says reveal alleged Chinese efforts to obtain American voter data, exploit weaknesses in the US election system and influence the country's political landscape.
In a nationally televised address on Thursday night, Trump described the disclosures as evidence of serious vulnerabilities in the country's election infrastructure and called for investigations into why the intelligence was allegedly withheld during his first term.
"Tonight, I'm announcing the immediate declassification and release of critical intelligence, revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure," Trump said in a nationally televised address on Thursday night.
According to Trump, the documents were compiled by the White House Government Transparency Task Force and reviewed with assistance from the President's Intelligence Advisory Board and senior intelligence officials.
Trump claimed that one set of records alleges China acquired approximately 220 million US voter files containing names, addresses, telephone numbers, political affiliations and other personal information that could potentially be used in election-related activities.
A separate statement issued by the White House task force said more than 200 million voter records lacking state-specific affiliations had been compromised. It also stated that voter records linked to at least 18 states were affected. The statement identified 16 jurisdictions, including Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina and Ohio.
Trump accused officials within the US intelligence community of suppressing information related to China's alleged activities and claimed that the intelligence had not been shared with him while he was serving his first term as president.
He directed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to investigate why the information was allegedly withheld.
Trump also called for any officials found to have engaged in wrongdoing to be dismissed and prosecuted where appropriate.
Among the released records are intelligence reports alleging that China attempted to weaken Trump's political standing, influence American business leaders and journalists, and exploit racial, economic, immigration and partisan divisions within the United States.
Other documents describe alleged Chinese efforts to collect voter registration information and personally identifiable data.
One intelligence assessment states that publicly available voter information from Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma and Rhode Island was downloaded from commercial websites by a suspected Chinese cyber actor in January 2022. The assessment further says the same actor unsuccessfully attempted to download an Ohio voter registration application.
Trump also highlighted declassified FBI records relating to an investigation in Michigan involving allegedly fraudulent voter registration applications.
The documents include witness statements, database checks and details of a federal investigation that continued for several years. However, prosecutors ultimately declined to file charges, and the FBI later closed the case after concluding that investigators had not established a prosecutable federal offence.
Trump said his administration would notify governors, lawmakers and state officials about vulnerabilities identified in their respective jurisdictions. He also urged Congress to pass legislation requiring photo identification and proof of citizenship for voting while significantly restricting the use of mail-in ballots.
Separately, a report by the Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned that stolen voter information could potentially be used to request absentee ballots, modify voter addresses or polling locations, and add or remove voter registrations. The report also stated that voter registration systems had been targeted across all 50 states, with confirmed successful compromises reported in at least 20 states.
The release of the declassified records is expected to intensify political debate over foreign interference, election security and the handling of sensitive intelligence ahead of the upcoming US midterm elections.
(With inputs from IANS)
