Rep. Jim Himes (D., Conn.) on Thursday assured MSNBC's Kasie Hunt that Russia fiercely attacked U.S. election infrastructure, but he admitted there is still no evidence of ballot tampering.
Jeanette Manfra, chief cybersecurity official for the Department of Homeland Security, said this week that Russians penetrated voter roles in multiple states, but there has been no evidence showing the country altered the registration rolls. According to Himes, even though there have been no revelations of votes being changed, being a member of the House Intelligence Committee has informed him of the breadth of Russian activity despite.
"As a member of the Intelligence Committee I probably had a better, above-average sense for the breadth and intensity of the Russian attempts– attacks on our election infrastructure," he said. "[NBC Reporter] Ken Dilanian is right, there's still no evidence that votes were changed."
Himes continued on emphasize the significance of Russia's efforts to interfere in U.S. elections, saying that "each month brings new evidence about the depth of these attacks."
Himes made much of Russian use of social media, which included advertisements from anonymous Twitter accounts on Facebook.
"I mean, getting a look at the Twitter ads the Russians ran, the Facebook videos the Russians had, understanding how many people were exposed to those Russian-purchased videos—that's something that has happened over time," he said. "And so we are still learning."
Hunt asked Himes whether DHS had done enough to warn states about what they may be facing, and Himes said he worried whether changes were happening quickly enough.
"The answer to your question is that I think it's fair to say that in registrar's offices all over the country, in DHS and elsewhere, people are very seriously addressing this," he said. "Whether that's happening fast enough or not, I do worry about."