President Donald Trump accused members of the U.S.intelligence community Thursday night of operating a "shadow government" to allegedly conceal evidence of China’s efforts to influence U.S.
elections, seizing on newly declassified emails that he says reveal a bitter internal dispute about how Beijing’s activities should be characterized.Trump did not claim China changed votes or altered election results.Instead, he argued Beijing engaged in an influence campaign aimed at shaping U.S.
public perceptions.Trump claimed intelligence officials kept significant reporting out of his presidential briefings and highlighted an email in which a National Security Agency analyst allegedly wrote, "We have deliberately massaged our one pending (presidential daily brief) to avoid any direct links to the election.""Those responsible for sounding the alarm instead kept the information secret and hidden," Trump claimed."They did not disclose (it) to me as president or to anyone else."Trump gives address to the nation on elections.
(Saul Loeb/Pool via Reuters)TRUMP RELEASES DECLASSIFIED ELECTION INTELLIGENCE, SAYS IT REVEALS 'SHOCKING VULNERABILITIES'Trump used the disclosures to press Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, casting the newly released intelligence as evidence that lawmakers must tighten federal election rules before the midterms."Most importantly, addressing this crisis of election security demands that Congress must pass the SAVE America Act," Trump said."These reforms are urgently needed to stop the vulnerabilities that I’ve mentioned."The SAVE America Act passed the House in February but stalled in the Senate in March, when a 53–47 vote fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance it.
Trump urged Americans to call their senators and representatives and demand its passage "without delay."The White House, ahead of U.S.President Donald Trump, addresses the nation from the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 16, 2026.
(REUTERS/Kylie Cooper )REPUBLI...