In a Friday letter, 16 Democrats on the panel asked Sessions to brief them by December 14 on vulnerabilities in federal election systems and steps to reduce them, including potential updates to laws, in the wake of the intelligence agencies’ conclusion that Russia attempted to undermine the 2016 election and help elect President Donald Trump.
The committee members cited a November 15 hearing during which Sessions admitted his department had not done enough to prepare for anticipated Russian meddling in the 2018 midterm elections. In response to a question from Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Mich.), Sessions said he had not acted on a pledge he made at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in October to conduct a review of the issue. “I have not followed through to see where we are on that,” Sessions told Schneider. “I will personally take action to do so.”
