October 21, 2020

FBI Director Christopher Wray’s Remarks at Press Conference on Election Security

FBI Director Christopher Wray delivered the following remarks during a press conference on election security at FBI Headquarters with Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe. (Remarks as delivered)

The FBI is the primary agency responsible for investigating malicious cyber activity against election infrastructure, malign foreign influence operations, and election-related crimes, like voter fraud and voter suppression or intimidation.

And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing.

At the FBI, we’re working closely with our intelligence community partners, as well as our other federal, state, and local partners, to share information, bolster security, and identify and disrupt any threats.

We’re not going to tolerate foreign interference in our elections or any criminal activity that threatens the sanctity of your vote or undermines public confidence in the outcome of the election.

When we see indications of foreign interference or federal election crimes, we’re going to aggressively investigate and work with our partners, to quickly take appropriate action.

We’re also coordinating with the private sector—both technology and social media companies—to make sure that their platforms are not used by foreign adversaries to spread disinformation and propaganda.

We’ve been working for years as a community to build resilience in our election infrastructure—and today that infrastructure remains resilient.

You should be confident that your vote counts.

Early, unverified claims to the contrary should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism.

We encourage everyone to seek election and voting information from reliable sources—namely, your state election officials. And to be thoughtful, careful, and discerning consumers of information online.

And if you suspect criminal activity, we ask that you report that information to your local FBI field office.

As always, the men and women of the FBI remain committed to protecting the American people, our democracy, and the integrity of our elections.

We are not going to let our guard down.