前副总统乔·拜登周一对外国干涉美国内政发出了严厉警告选举，单挑俄罗斯并承诺对任何试图干涉美国民主进程的国家进行迅速报复。
在一份冗长的声明中，这位假定的民主党候选人痛斥特朗普政府未能采取行动阻止外国选举干预，并表示，他正在将克里姆林宫和其他外国政府“置于关注之中”，作为与总统的较量唐纳德·特朗普离我们只有100多天了。
拜登写道:“如果当选总统，我将把外国对我们选举的干涉视为一种敌对行为，它将严重影响美国与干涉国政府之间的关系。”
“我将指示美国情报部门及时公开报告外国政府干涉或试图干涉美国选举的任何行为。”他补充称:“我将指示我的政府动用一切适当的国家权力工具，并充分利用我的行政权力，让国家犯罪者付出巨大而持久的代价。”他指出，潜在的代价可能包括“金融部门制裁、资产冻结、网络应对以及揭露腐败。”
2020年7月14日，在特拉华州威尔明顿的一次竞选活动中，乔·拜登谈到了基础设施现代化和他应对气候变化的计划。
这份针对俄罗斯和其他外国政府的声明发表前几天，拜登透露，他已经听取了一个专家小组关于外国干涉选举问题的简报。
“我们以前就知道了，我向你保证我现在知道了，因为现在我又得到了简报。俄罗斯人仍在试图使我们的选举过程失去合法性。事实，”拜登周五晚上在一个由一群顶级律师主持的虚拟筹款会上说。
这位美国前副总统在美国参议院任职36年期间，曾多次担任参议院外交关系委员会主席，他补充说:“中国和其他国家也在从事一些旨在让我们对选举结果失去信心的活动。”
拜登在周一发表的声明中写道，他“无意”加剧美国和俄罗斯或任何其他国家之间的紧张局势，他更愿意与世界各国共同努力，打击正在进行的恐怖活动冠状病毒他警告说，他将对任何干涉美国民主的国家实施惩罚。
拜登写道:“如果任何外国势力肆无忌惮地选择干涉我们的民主，我将毫不犹豫地以总统的身份做出回应，并为此付出巨大而持久的代价。”
自2016年特朗普击败前国务卿希拉里·克林顿(Hillary Clinton)当选以来，他在很大程度上拒绝了美国情报界的结论，即俄罗斯干预选举是为了帮助他参选，并在2018年与俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京(Vladimir Putin)一起举行的新闻发布会上表示，他相信自己否认俄罗斯参与了选举干预。
“我的人来找我，(国家情报局局长)丹·科茨来找我和其他一些人，说他们认为是俄罗斯。我有普京总统。他只是说这不是俄罗斯。我会这么说。我看不出为什么会是(俄罗斯)，”特朗普当时表示。
在这张2018年7月16日的档案照片中，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普(左)和俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京(Vladimir Putin)在芬兰赫尔辛基总统府举行的会议开始时握手。
在2020年的整个竞选过程中，拜登一直试图让特朗普在俄罗斯问题上显得软弱。最近，有报道称，在过去一年里，俄罗斯情报官员向塔利班武装分子行贿，让他们杀死驻阿富汗的美国军队，拜登因此严厉批评了特朗普。
拜登在6月下旬的一次虚拟筹款活动中表示:“(特朗普)从一开始就讨好普京，给了普京一个他不应得的地位，削弱了我们在欧洲和世界其他地区的联盟。”
“当我是总统的时候，这一点和这么多的弊端是站不住脚的。别搞错了。我会面对普京。我会加强北约。我将向普京表明，他们将为干涉我们的民主进程付出代价。”
特朗普坚称，他从未被告知任何所谓的俄罗斯赏金计划，白宫坚称，有关该计划的信息未经美国情报机构核实。
特朗普7月1日在推特上写道:“我从来没有得到简报，因为他们可能得到的任何信息都没有达到那个水平。”
Biden warns against foreign interference in US elections: 'I am putting the Kremlin and other foreign governments on notice'
Former Vice PresidentJoe Bidenon Monday issued a stern warning against foreign interference in U.S.elections, singling outRussiaand promising swift retaliation against any nation that attempts to meddle in the American democratic process.
In a lengthy statement, the presumptive Democratic nominee lambasted the Trump administration for failing to take action to prevent foreign election interference, and said that he is putting the Kremlin and other foreign governments "on notice," as a matchup with PresidentDonald Trumplooms just over 100 days away.
"If elected president, I will treat foreign interference in our election as an adversarial act that significantly affects the relationship between the United States and the interfering nation's government," Biden wrote.
"I will direct the U.S. Intelligence Community to report publicly and in a timely manner on any efforts by foreign governments that have interfered, or attempted to interfere, with U.S. elections. I will direct my administration to leverage all appropriate instruments of national power and make full use of my executive authority to impose substantial and lasting costs on state perpetrators," he added, noting that the potential costs could include "financial-sector sanctions, asset freezes, cyber responses, and the exposure of corruption."
The statement aimed at Russia and other foreign governments comes just days after Biden revealed that he has been briefed by a team of experts on the topic of foreign election interference.
"We know from before and I guarantee you I know now because now I get briefings again. The Russians are still engaged in trying to delegitimize our electoral process. Fact," Biden said Friday evening at a virtual fundraiser hosted by a group of top lawyers.
"China and others are engaged as well in activities that are designed for us to lose confidence in the outcome," the former vice president, who served for multiple stints as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his 36-year career in the U.S. Senate, added.
In his statement issued on Monday, Biden wrote that he has "no desire" to escalate tensions between the U.S. and Russia, or any other country, and would prefer to work together with the nations of the world to fight the ongoingcoronaviruspandemic, but warned that he would impose punishments on any nation that interferes in American democracy.
"(I)f any foreign power recklessly chooses to interfere in our democracy, I will not hesitate to respond as president to impose substantial and lasting costs," Biden wrote.
Since his election in 2016 over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump has largely rejected the conclusion of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia interfered in the election to aid his candidacy, and said at a 2018 press conference along Russian President Vladimir Putin that he believes his denials that his country was involved in election meddling.
"My people came to me, (Director of National Intelligence) Dan Coats came to me and some others and said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this. I don't see any reason why it would be (Russia)," Trump said at the time.
Throughout the 2020 campaign, Biden has sought to cast Trump as soft on Russia, and recently excoriated the president over reports that Russian intelligence officers offered to pay Taliban militants to kill American troops in Afghanistan over the past year.
"(Trump) has cozied up to Putin from the very beginning, giving Putin a standing that he does not deserve, undercutting our alliances in Europe and other parts of the world," Biden said during a virtual fundraiser in late June.
"When I'm president, this and so many abuses will not stand. Make no mistake. I'll confront Putin. I'll strengthen NATO. I'll make clear to Putin that they'll have a price to pay for interference in our democratic processes," Biden said.
Trump has insisted he was never briefed on any alleged Russian bounty program, and the White House has maintained that the information regarding the program was not verified by U.S. intelligence agencies.
"I was never briefed because any info that they may have had did not rise to that level," Trump tweeted on July 1.
