[House Document 115-152]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - House Document 115-152
NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN UNITED
STATES ELECTIONS
__________
MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
AN EXECUTIVE ORDER DECLARING A NATIONAL EMERGENCY TO DEAL WITH THE
THREAT OF FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN UNITED STATES ELECTIONS, PURSUANT TO
50 U.S.C. 1703(b); PUBLIC LAW 95-223 SEC. 204(b); (91 STAT. 1627)
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
September 13, 2018.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the
Committees on Foreign Affairs, the Judiciary, Intelligence (Permanent
Select), and House Administration and ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
79-011 WASHINGTON : 2018
To the Congress of the United States:
Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
(50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the National Emergencies Act (50
U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), section 212(f) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of
title 3, United States Code, I hereby report that I have issued
an Executive Order declaring a national emergency to deal with
the threat of foreign interference in United States elections
and authorizing the United States Government to impose a range
of appropriate and meaningful sanctions against foreign
individuals and entities determined to have engaged in election
interference.
Foreign powers have historically sought to exploit
America's free and open political system. In recent years, the
proliferation of digital devices and internet-based
communications has created significant vulnerabilities and
magnified the scope and intensity of the threat of foreign
interference. To deal with this threat, I have directed the
Director of National Intelligence to conduct regular
assessments of any information indicating that foreign election
interference has taken place. I have also directed the Attorney
General and Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct
evaluations of the effects of any such interference that
targeted election infrastructure or campaign-related
infrastructure, and to provide updates and recommendations on
appropriate measures to take in response.
In the event foreign election interference is determined to
have occurred, the Executive Order provides for the imposition
of sanctions on foreign persons determined by the Secretary of
the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to
have engaged in, sponsored, concealed, or otherwise been
complicit in the interference, as well as other related
persons. The Executive Order further directs the Secretary of
State and the Secretary of the Treasury to develop additional
recommended sanctions measures, appropriately calibrated to
account for the severity of the interference and any collateral
effects on United States and allied financial stability and
economic and security interests, targeting companies in
significant economic sectors in a country whose government is
determined to have engaged in or sponsored election
interference.
I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.
Donald J. Trump.
The White House, September 12, 2018.
Executive Order
----------
Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a
United States Election
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of America,
including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50
U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 212(f) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301
of title 3, United States Code,
I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of
America, find that the ability of persons located, in whole or
in substantial part, outside the United States to interfere in
or undermine public confidence in United States elections,
including through the unauthorized accessing of election and
campaign infrastructure or the covert distribution of
propaganda and disinformation, constitutes an unusual and
extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign
policy of the United States. Although there has been no
evidence of a foreign power altering the outcome or vote
tabulation in any United States election, foreign powers have
historically sought to exploit America's free and open
political system. In recent years, the proliferation of digital
devices and internet-based communications has created
significant vulnerabilities and magnified the scope and
intensity of the threat of foreign interference, as illustrated
in the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment. I hereby declare
a national emergency to deal with this threat.
Accordingly, I hereby order:
Section 1. (a) Not later than 45 days after the conclusion
of a United States election, the Director of National
Intelligence, in consultation with the heads of any other
appropriate executive departments and agencies (agencies),
shall conduct an assessment of any information indicating that
a foreign government, or any person acting as an agent of or on
behalf of a foreign government, has acted with the intent or
purpose of interfering in that election. The assessment shall
identify, to the maximum extent ascertainable, the nature of
any foreign interference and any methods employed to execute
it, the persons involved, and the foreign government or
governments that authorized, directed, sponsored, or supported
it. The Director of National Intelligence shall deliver this
assessment and appropriate supporting information to the
President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the
Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, and
the Secretary of Homeland Security.
(b) Within 45 days of receiving the assessment and
information described in section 1(a) of this order, the
Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in
consultation with the heads of any other appropriate agencies
and, as appropriate, State and local officials, shall deliver
to the President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the
Treasury, and the Secretary of Defense a report evaluating,
with respect to the United States election that is the subject
of the assessment described in section 1(a):
(i) the extent to which any foreign interference that
targeted election infrastructure materially affected
the security or integrity of that infrastructure, the
tabulation of votes, or the timely transmission of
election results; and
(ii) if any foreign interference involved activities
targeting the infrastructure of, or pertaining to, a
political organization, campaign, or candidate, the
extent to which such activities materially affected the
security or integrity of that infrastructure, including
by unauthorized access to, disclosure or threatened
disclosure of, or alteration or falsification of,
information or data.
The report shall identify any material issues of fact with
respect to these matters that the Attorney General and the
Secretary of Homeland Security are unable to evaluate or reach
agreement on at the time the report is submitted. The report
shall also include updates and recommendations, when
appropriate, regarding remedial actions to be taken by the
United States Government, other than the sanctions described in
sections 2 and 3 of this order.
(c) Heads of all relevant agencies shall transmit to the
Director of National Intelligence any information relevant to
the execution of the Director's duties pursuant to this order,
as appropriate and consistent with applicable law. If relevant
information emerges after the submission of the report mandated
by section 1(a) of this order, the Director, in consultation
with the heads of any other appropriate agencies, shall amend
the report, as appropriate, and the Attorney General and the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall amend the report required
by section 1(b), as appropriate.
(d) Nothing in this order shall prevent the head of any
agency or any other appropriate official from tendering to the
President, at any time through an appropriate channel, any
analysis, information, assessment, or evaluation of foreign
interference in a United States election.
(e) If information indicating that foreign interference in
a State, tribal, or local election within the United States has
occurred is identified, it may be included, as appropriate, in
the assessment mandated by section 1(a) of this order or in the
report mandated by section 1(b) of this order, or submitted to
the President in an independent report.
(f) Not later than 30 days following the date of this
order, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury,
the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and
the Director of National Intelligence shall develop a framework
for the process that will be used to carry out their respective
responsibilities pursuant to this order. The framework, which
may be classified in whole or in part, shall focus on ensuring
that agencies fulfill their responsibilities pursuant to this
order in a manner that maintains methodological consistency;
protects law enforcement or other sensitive information and
intelligence sources and methods; maintains an appropriate
separation between intelligence functions and policy and legal
judgments; ensures that efforts to protect electoral processes
and institutions are insulated from political bias; and
respects the principles of free speech and open debate.
Sec. 2. (a) All property and interests in property that are
in the United States, that hereafter come within the United
States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or
control of any United States person of the following persons
are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported,
withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any foreign person determined
by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the
Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of
Homeland Security:
(i) to have directly or indirectly engaged in,
sponsored, concealed, or otherwise been complicit in
foreign interference in a United States election;
(ii) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or
provided financial, material, or technological support
for, or goods or services to or in support of, any
activity described in subsection (a)(i) of this section
or any person whose property and interests in property
are blocked pursuant to this order; or
(iii) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted
or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or
indirectly, any person whose property or interests in
property are blocked pursuant to this order.
(b) Executive Order 13694 of April 1, 2015, as amended by
Executive Order 13757 of December 28, 2016, remains in effect.
This order is not intended to, and does not, serve to limit the
Secretary of the Treasury's discretion to exercise the
authorities provided in Executive Order 13694. Where
appropriate, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation
with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, may
exercise the authorities described in Executive Order 13694 or
other authorities in conjunction with the Secretary of the
Treasury's exercise of authorities provided in this order.
(c) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section
apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in
regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued
pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract
entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date
of this order.
Sec. 3. Following the transmission of the assessment
mandated by section 1(a) and the report mandated by section
1(b):
(a) the Secretary of the Treasury shall review the
assessment mandated by section 1(a) and the report mandated by
section 1(b), and, in consultation with the Secretary of State,
the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland Security,
impose all appropriate sanctions pursuant to section 2(a) of
this order and any appropriate sanctions described in section
2(b) of this order; and
(b) the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the
Treasury, in consultation with the heads of other appropriate
agencies, shall jointly prepare a recommendation for the
President as to whether additional sanctions against foreign
persons may be appropriate in response to the identified
foreign interference and in light of the evaluation in the
report mandated by section 1(b) of this order, including, as
appropriate and consistent with applicable law, proposed
sanctions with respect to the largest business entities
licensed or domiciled in a country whose government authorized,
directed, sponsored, or supported election interference,
including at least one entity from each of the following
sectors: financial services, defense, energy, technology, and
transportation (or, if inapplicable to that country's largest
business entities, sectors of comparable strategic significance
to that foreign government). The recommendation shall include
an assessment of the effect of the recommended sanctions on the
economic and national security interests of the United States
and its allies. Any recommended sanctions shall be
appropriately calibrated to the scope of the foreign
interference identified, and may include one or more of the
following with respect to each targeted foreign person:
(i) blocking and prohibiting all transactions in a
person's property and interests in property subject to
United States jurisdiction;
(ii) export license restrictions under any statute or
regulation that requires the prior review and approval
of the United States Government as a condition for the
export or re-export of goods or services;
(iii) prohibitions on United States financial
institutions making loans or providing credit to a
person;
(iv) restrictions on transactions in foreign exchange
in which a person has any interest;
(v) prohibitions on transfers of credit or payments
between financial institutions, or by, through, or to
any financial institution, for the benefit of a person;
(vi) prohibitions on United States persons investing
in or purchasing equity or debt of a person;
(vii) exclusion of a person's alien corporate
officers from the United States;
(viii) imposition on a person's alien principal
executive officers of any of the sanctions described in
this section; or
(ix) any other measures authorized by law.
Sec. 4. I hereby determine that the making of donations of
the type of articles specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA
(50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the benefit of any person
whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant
to this order would seriously impair my ability to deal with
the national emergency declared in this order, and I hereby
prohibit such donations as provided by section 2 of this order.
Sec. 5. The prohibitions in section 2 of this order include
the following:
(a) the making of any contribution or provision of funds,
goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person
whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant
to this order; and
(b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds,
goods, or services from any such person.
Sec. 6. I hereby find that the unrestricted immigrant and
nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens whose
property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this
order would be detrimental to the interests of the United
States, and I hereby suspend entry into the United States, as
immigrants or nonimmigrants, of such persons. Such persons
shall be treated as persons covered by section 1 of
Proclamation 8693 of July 24, 2011 (Suspension of Entry of
Aliens Subject to United Nations Security Council Travel Bans
and International Emergency Economic Powers Act Sanctions).
Sec. 7. (a) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has the
purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or
attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this
order is prohibited.
(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the
prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.
Sec. 8. For the purposes of this order:
(a) the term ``person'' means an individual or entity;
(b) the term ``entity'' means a partnership, association,
trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other
organization;
(c) the term ``United States person'' means any United
States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized
under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within
the United States (including foreign branches), or any person
(including a foreign person) in the United States;
(d) the term ``election infrastructure'' means information
and communications technology and systems used by or on behalf
of the Federal Government or a State or local government in
managing the election process, including voter registration
databases, voting machines, voting tabulation equipment, and
equipment for the secure transmission of election results;
(e) the term ``United States election'' means any election
for Federal office held on, or after, the date of this order;
(f) the term ``foreign interference,'' with respect to an
election, includes any covert, fraudulent, deceptive, or
unlawful actions or attempted actions of a foreign government,
or of any person acting as an agent of or on behalf of a
foreign government, undertaken with the purpose or effect of
influencing, undermining confidence in, or altering the result
or reported result of, the election, or undermining public
confidence in election processes or institutions;
(g) the term ``foreign government'' means any national,
state, provincial, or other governing authority, any political
party, or any official of any governing authority or political
party, in each case of a country other than the United States;
(h) the term ``covert,'' with respect to an action or
attempted action, means characterized by an intent or apparent
intent that the role of a foreign government will not be
apparent or acknowledged publicly; and
(i) the term ``State'' means the several States or any of
the territories, dependencies, or possessions of the United
States.
Sec. 9. For those persons whose property and interests in
property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a
constitutional presence in the United States, I find that
because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets
instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be
taken pursuant to this order would render those measures
ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to
be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in
this order, there need be no prior notice of a listing or
determination made pursuant to section 2 of this order.
Sec. 10. Nothing in this order shall prohibit transactions
for the conduct of the official business of the United States
Government by employees, grantees, or contractors thereof.
Sec. 11. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation
with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, is hereby
authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of
rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the
President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the
purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may re-
delegate any of these functions to other officers within the
Department of the Treasury consistent with applicable law. All
agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to
take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry
out the provisions of this order.
Sec. 12. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation
with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, is hereby
authorized to submit the recurring and final reports to the
Congress on the national emergency declared in this order,
consistent with section 401(c) of the NEA (50 U.S.C. 1641(c))
and section 204(c) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1703(c)).
Sec. 13. This order shall be implemented consistent with 50
U.S.C. 1702(b)(1) and (3).
Sec. 14. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to
impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive
department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget relating to budgetary,
administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any
right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law
or in equity by any party against the United States, its
departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.
Donald J. Trump.
The White House, September 12, 2018.
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