President Donald Trump asserted Thursday that elements within the U.S. intelligence community operated a "shadow government" to conceal evidence of Chinese efforts to influence American elections. Trump's claims, made on the social media platform Truth Social, center on newly declassified emails he says reveal internal disputes about how China's activities should be characterized.
Trump stated that significant reporting was withheld from his presidential daily briefings and highlighted an email purportedly from a National Security Agency analyst suggesting the daily brief was "deliberately massaged" to avoid direct links to the election. He argued that those responsible for raising concerns instead kept the information secret and hidden from him and others.
While Trump did not allege that China altered or changed election results, he contended that Beijing engaged in an influence campaign designed to shape U.S. public perceptions. He further claimed an FBI official wrote that she was operating a "shadow government" to prevent the China intelligence from becoming public.
Trump used these disclosures to advocate for congressional passage of the SAVE America Act, which he believes is essential for tightening federal election rules. The legislation, which passed the House but stalled in the Senate, would mandate documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration, require photo identification to vote, and direct states to identify and remove noncitizens from voter rolls. Under the act, absentee voters would need to provide a copy of a photo ID when requesting and returning their ballot.
The former president also called for an end to mail-in voting, except in cases of documented illness, disability, military deployment, or travel, though this specific prohibition is not currently in the SAVE America Act's text. He urged Americans to contact their representatives and senators to demand the bill's immediate passage.
The declassified emails indicate that intelligence analysts had differing views on whether to explicitly link alleged Chinese influence operations and intelligence collection to elections. Some officials questioned the decision to "massage" the President's Daily Brief, with one email noting the approach was "highly irregular."
One official noted in a November 2020 email that the intelligence community was "deliberately avoiding mentioning a connection to elections for non-substantive reasons," seeking to reconnect the intelligence to election security assessments and prevent what was described as an "analytic objectivity mistake." The documents, however, do not substantiate Trump's broader claim of a politically motivated conspiracy, instead illustrating differing intelligence assessments regarding China's intentions.
Trump directed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Justice Department, the FBI, and the CIA to investigate the withholding of this intelligence, to remove any individuals involved in a cover-up, and to pursue criminal charges if deemed appropriate.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., responded to Trump's remarks by stating that the president had again repeated claims about elections that had been investigated and rejected by the Intelligence Community.