Biden's Renewal of Executive Order 13848 Last Year Still Has The Potential To Be His Most Impactful Dark Brandon Move of All

On Sept. 7, President Biden renewed Executive Order (E.O.)13848, continuing the national emergency related to the threat of foreign interference in elections declared by former President Trump in Sept. 2018. The E.O. (and its renewal) requires the Director of National Intelligence, with the help of other three letter agencies ( FBI, DHS, etc.), to assess any foreign interference related to a federal election no later than 45 days after the election and turn that assessment over to officials in the government on a need-to-know basis.

If the assessment identifies that any bad actors took part in cyber-crimes, disinformation campaigns, or other means in regards to U.S elections interfered with an election, E.O.13848 gives the government certain powers, including the ability to freeze assets, restrict travel, and prohibit transactions with individuals or entities engaged in election interference.

Both presidents made clear that even though up until the time each signed the E.O., there has been "no evidence of a foreign power altering the outcome or vote tabulation in any United States election," the threat a foreign power could alter a U.S. election is ever-present. 

Until the public is privy to what the assessment made by the Director of National Intelligence was this time around - that would have been delivered by Dec. 20 to Biden and Harris, as well as the heads of key agencies in the government - it is possible headlines like one published by The Associated Press on Sept. 7, that describes the election as being "largely trouble-free” won't age well.

Though Divergent Dispatches couldn't locate any news coverage on Biden's renewal of Executive Order 13848 in the media landscape, posts by numerous neodivergent content creators about the order are plentiful. Some content creators, like Empress CJJ, see Biden's renewal of the E.O. as one of many indications that there is a possibility the largest international criminal sting in history- related to foreign election interference- could be underway. Here is an abbreviated selection of information related to foreign election interference going back to the 2016 election and other facts that leave open the possibility that they are onto something that the media landscape may be missing:

12.22.2016, Senator-elect Kamala Harris was assigned to serve on the Select Committee on Intelligence. The Russia probe examining the actions of the Trump campaign during the 2016 election kicked off at the start of Harris' two-year stint on the committee, giving her a front-row seat to Russia's meddling. 

1.7.2017, Biden referred to the attack on the Capitol as a culmination of Trump's assault on democracy while serving as the president and named Merrit Garland as his pick for attorney general. He also called Trump out for calling the free press "the enemy of the people," which is the type of language he expects from autocrats and dictators across the world. 

1.6.2017, The unclassified version of the Intelligence report "Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections": The Analytic Process and Cyber Incident Attribution was made public.

3.2.2017, Trump's first Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, recused himself from investigations into Russia's involvement in interfering in the 2016 presidential election after the Justice Dept. disclosed he had met with Russian envoy Sergey Kislyak during Trump's campaign despite Sessions denial that he spoke with any Russian officials before Trump took office during his confirmation hearing. 

4.17.2017, Robert Mueller, a former FBI director, was appointed as Special Counsel to oversee the previously-confirmed FBI investigation of Russian government efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election.

 2.16.18, A Dept. of Justice press release outlined a grand jury indictment of thirteen Russian nationals and three Russian companies for participating in information warfare against the United States. 

3.24.2019, Attorney General William Barr sent a letter to Congress with a four-page summary he wrote about Special Counsel Mueller's report on the investigation into Russian interference in the election and allegations of the obstruction of justice by Trump, which downplayed the report's findings that included evidence showing "sweeping and systemic" Russian interference in the 2016 election. The methods of election interference used by Russia included an information warfare campaign that utilized social media platforms that favored Trump, the hacking of Clinton campaign-related databases, and the release of stolen materials through Russian-created entities and Wikileaks. It also found that Russia targeted databases in many states related to administering elections, gaining access to information for millions of registered voters.

4.18.2019, Attorney General William Barr released a redacted version of Mueller's 400-page report on the two-year-long investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and allegations of the obstruction of justice by Trump. 

7.25.2019, The first volume of five volumes that make up the 1000-page plus redacted version of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on "Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election" was released. (The fifth volume was released on 8.15.2020.) 

9.27.2019, The Senate Committee on Finance Minority Staff released a report - The NRA and Russia, How a Tax-Exempt Organization Became a Foreign Asset that shows how the NRA misled the public about a 2015 trip some of its members took to Moscow in 2015. 

4.21.2021, Biden lifted sanctions Trump placed on the International Criminal Court.

6.8.21, The FBI spearheaded an international sting that led to 800 arrests worldwide, stemming from a fake encrypted phone platform created by a field office in San Diego, California, that enabled the FBI and its international law enforcement partners to infiltrate hundreds of criminal syndicates. The global takedown that the operation known as  'Trojan Shield' culminated in strengthened international law enforcement partnerships. 

6.21.2022, Attorney General Merrit Garland visited Ukraine and stated, "There is no hiding place for war criminals. The U.S. Justice Department will pursue every avenue of accountability for those who commit war crimes and other atrocries in Ukraine."

8.2.22, The FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago and seized 13,000 government documents, including some that were classified as top secret and contained Sensitive Compartmented Information.

11.18.2022, Attorney General  Merrit Garland appointed Jack Smith to serve as the Special Counsel by Order No. 5559-2022. He was put in charge of two major investigations related to alleged wrong doings by Trump. Smith stepped down from his post in the Hague, where he served as the Chief Prosecutor of the Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor’s Office responsible for investigating war crimes in Kosovo.His work related to Kosovo led to two men being sent to prison for sharing sensitive information taken from his office and the indictment of  Kosovo's sitting president — charges that upended a peace summit organized by Trump at the White House in June 2020.

12.22.2022, The Select January 6th Committee released its report and supporting materials.

12.23.22, Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act into law, which includes the "Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022"   that clarifies and modernizes the Electoral Count Act of 1887 to prevent confusion about the role of the Vice President and Congress in presidential elections.

3.3.2023, Attorney General Merrit Garland made an unannounced trip to Ukraine to join international partners at the “United for Justice Conference.”

6.8.2023, Special Council Jack Smith filed an indictment against Trump and Waltine Nauta for their mishandling of classified documents and concealing relevant content with the intent of impairing an official proceeding. The indictment includes a list of the documents and provides a brief description of the sensitive nature that the documents contain.

6.19.2023, Attorney General Merrit Garland made a surprise visit to the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

4.12.2024, Belgium opens an investigation into alleged meddling by Russia in its elections.

7.1.24, The Supreme Court ruled Presidents and former presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts they took while in office, a ruling that led to delays in legal cases against Trump that were underway, making it impossible for Jack Smith to try the cases against Trump before he is set to take office.

8.27.24, Special Council Jack Smith filed a  Superseding Indictment against Trump. 

9.7.23, Canada launched an inquiry into foreign interference in its federal electoral processes and democratic institutions that requires a Foreign Interference Commission to submit a final report by 12.24.24. In mid-October, the Commission was granted an extension to complete its report until the end of Jan. 2025. 

9.4.24, A Dept. of Justice press release announced the indictment of two employees of a Russian state-controlled media outlet that spent $10 Million to pump pro-Russia propaganda and disinformation across social media platforms, including TikTok, via Tenet Media, a Tennessee-based online content creation company, among other things. YouTube took Tenent Media's posts down, but Elon Musk's X left the now-defunct company's posts on its platform up.  That same day, during a convening of the Election Threats Task Force, Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that the investigation that led to the indictments remains active and ongoing. And that "In a separate enforcement action, the Justice Department is seizing 32 internet domains that the Russian government and Russian sponsored actors have used to engage in a covert campaign to interfere in and influence the outcome of our country’s elections." That action calls out Sergei Kiriyenko, Vladimir Putin’s  First Deputy Chief of Staff, for playing a role in efforts to influence the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election through his connection to numerous online news platforms that the Dept. of Justice took down.

9.6.24, The Dept. of Justice released a report pursuant to Biden's E.O. 14067-Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, "The Role of Detecting, Investigating, and Prosecuting Criminal Activity Related to Digital Assets."

10.2.24, Special Prosecutor Jack Smith's 2020 court filing that provides details of the criminal case against Trump for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election and why the former president isn't immune from prosecution was unsealed.

10.17.24, Tanya Chutkan, U.S. District Judge, filed an order denying Trump's request to stay the release of redacted documents filed by Jack Smith in the Trump Election Case. 

11.5.24, The FBI released a statement asserting the bomb threats to polling locations in swing states originated in Russia. 

11.6.24 to 1.1.2025, Despite both VP Kamala Harris and President Biden describing a second Trump presidency as a threat to democracy, they continue to project a calm demeanor ever since she conceded the election to Trump. In a video Biden released on April 4, 2016, when he announced his first run for office against Trump, he linked a second term for Trump to the spread of neo-Nazi sentiment, which some in the MAGA movement openly embrace. And, in a Harris tweet posted on 7.25.24, she warned, " If reelected, Trump has vowed to be a dictator on day one and openly said he intends to weaponize the Department of Justice against his enemies." Yet both made statements to Whitehouse staff in late December, that they aren't going anywhere. 

11.8.24, Federal agents raid MAGA donor Alfie Oakes' home and an agricultural packing plant in Florida. Oakes, owner of a supermarket chain, was already facing a lawsuit for failing to repay loans when raids took place.  

11.13.24, The FBI raided the home of Polymarket's owner, Shayne Coplan, and seized electronic devices. Polymarket, which took bets on the presidential election, offered favorable odds for Trump winning.

11.25.24, Jacqueline Singh, who led Biden's 2020 campaign's cyber security, sent a letter to Biden and Harris outlining her grave concerns about the integrity of the 2024 presidential election and the urgent need for a forensic audit. 

12.6.24, Romania's top court annulled election results after allegations emerged that Russia ran a coordinated online campaign to promote a far-right candidate in the first round of its presidential election. 

12.20.24, Information related to the U.S. Capitol Violence on Jan. 6, 2021, on the FBI's site that includes photos of the remaining perpetrators on its Most Wanted list and a list of all of those arrested for crimes related to the insurrection includes four arrests made on Dec. 20, 2024.

12.16.2024, The Council of the European Union adopts its 15th package of restrictive measures to limit Russia's war aggression against Ukraine. 

 12.12.24, The DOJ released a report on its review of the FBI's handling of its "Confidential Human Sources and Intelligence Collection Efforts in the Lead Up to the January 6, 2021, Electoral Certification," which found none of them or any member of the FBI, participated in the insurrection. 

12.26.24, An opinion piece published by the Hill written by two conservative constitutional lawyers that serves as a reminder that Congress has the power to stop Trump from taking office by upholding  Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution that states “No person shall hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” 

12. 27. 24, Trump asks the Supreme Court to delay hearing a case related to the ban of TikTok until after he is sworn in.  Trump set up a TikTok account on June 2, 2024, despite trying to ban the app in 2020 himself. 

12.31.24, The U.S. Treasury Department announced pursuant to E.O.13848, it is sanctioning entities in Iran and Russia that attempted to interfere in the U.S. 2024 Election. It is the first action related to E.O.13848 made public so far.