President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday creating a system to impose sanctions on any foreign actor who interferes in U.S. elections, officials revealed Wednesday.
The executive order will target both governments and companies found to be meddling in U.S. elections and will also allow for mechanisms to study effects of election meddling after its conclusion. The executive orders takes place ahead of the November 2018 midterm elections and is intended to assure citizens of the integrity of U.S. elections.
The executive order tasks the U.S. intelligence community with continually assessing whether entities are interfering in U.S. elections for identification purposes. The findings of the intelligence community in this case could trigger automatic sanctions against entities in order to bypass lengthy processes of sanctions when it matters in a time sensitive environment.
The executive order also allows the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Treasury to join with additional sanctions. The system is designed to serve as a major deterrent against any former adversary including the Russian government.
Trump has come under immense pressure to secure U.S. elections after Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.