U.S. Treasury Sanctions Russia and Iran Over Attempted 2024 Election Interference

What Happened?

Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith issued a statement saying, ‘The Governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns.’

A press release from the Treasury Department went on to say:

‘the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating a subordinate organization of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and a Moscow-based affiliate organization of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and its director pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13848, the U.S. election interference authority. As affiliates of the IRGC and GRU, these actors aimed to stoke socio-political tensions and influence the U.S. electorate during the 2024 U.S. election. Today’s actions build on sanctions previously imposed on the IRGC, the GRU, and their numerous subordinate and proxy organizations, pursuant to several authorities targeting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and malicious cyber-enabled activities.’

Why it Matters

Election interference claims increased during the 2020 and 2024 U.S. Presidential elections. Candidates and representatives from both major political parties in the U.S. accused foreign actors and sometimes each other of election interference.

The key difference here is the actions of foreign actors or agencies, which are subject to legal restrictions that do not apply to American citizens.

According the Cornell University School of Law:

‘foreign election interference means conduct by a foreign person that— (A) (i) violates Federal criminal, voting rights, or campaign finance law; or (ii) is performed by any person acting as an agent of or on behalf of, or in coordination with, a foreign government or criminal enterprise; and (B) includes any covert, fraudulent, deceptive, or unlawful act or attempted act, or knowing use of information acquired by theft, undertaken with the specific intent to significantly influence voters, undermine public confidence in election processes or institutions, or influence, undermine confidence in, or alter the result or reported result of, a general or primary Federal, State, or local election or caucus, including— (i) the campaign of a candidate; or (ii) a ballot measure, including an amendment, a bond issue, an initiative, a recall, a referral, or a referendum.’

While expressing an opinion that may not be true or is knowingly false in order to effect the outcome of an election is not illegal for an American citizen, it is for foreign actors and agencies.

Enforcement of the action taken by the U.S. Treasury Department will effectively block those designated foreign actors or agencies from using online platforms such as social media sites in the United States.

How it Affects You

Many American citizens are more concerned with disinformation coming from their own government than from abroad.

While those concerns have merit, attempts by foreign actors to influence American voters are still problematic due to the nature of modern communications technology.

The internet has made it easier than ever to spread misinformation quickly to large numbers of people, and foreign governments often see doing so as a low cost way to further their own agendas.