The US intelligence community noted that the Turkish authorities had tried to secretly influence American politicians and the course of elections to local government bodies in the country. This is stated in a report by the US National Intelligence Council, which was declassified and published by the White House on July 16.

The document, dated August 2020, states: “Senior Turkish officials, including President [Tayyip] Erdogan, believe that anti-Turkish views have become entrenched in certain circles of the US government; in this connection, they are trying to secretly influence the stance toward Turkey of American politicians and candidates for political office.” The report also emphasizes: “Among the steps Ankara took over the past year were covert financing of campaigns in municipal elections, unregistered lobbying activity, and the dissemination by state media of materials on social media.”

The council mentioned is part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence of the United States, which oversees the work of all 18 US intelligence agencies.

On July 16, US President Donald Trump said that declassified US intelligence data indicate that the country’s voting systems are “extremely vulnerable to attack.”