US President Joe Biden has extended the executive order allowing for the imposition of sanctions against foreign companies and individuals involved in interfering with American elections for another year, White House press service announced in a statement.
“I am extending the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13848 for one more year due to the threat of foreign interference in US elections or undermining public confidence in them,” the White House statement reads.
The order serves as a formal basis for imposing sanctions on legal and physical entities, including those from Russia, accused of attempting to influence the electoral process in the US. Moscow has repeatedly denied allegations of trying to meddle in American elections.
As Biden noted, “although there is no evidence that any foreign power has succeeded in altering the outcome of a US election or influencing the vote count, other countries have historically sought to exploit America’s free and open political system for their own gain.”