1. France and the 1796 Election
2. World War II and the 1940 Election
Some recently reported Russian methods are surprisingly similar to how an ally interfered with the 1940 presidential election, planting fake news stories in newspapers and making public what were believed to be private communications.
President Franklin Roosevelt wanted to intervene in World War II, but the American public and Congress—remembering World War I—had little appetite for what seemed like another European gambit.
Britain, besieged by Nazi Germany, thought one way to get American help was to reshape American public opinion.
“This was literally a matter of changing the establishment’s view of U.S. support for the war,” said Morris, who writes about British espionage in the 1940 election in his book “Rogue Spooks.”
3. The Soviets Back a Political Party
In 1948, the Soviet Union was largely behind the Progressive Party, a third party whose candidate for president was former Vice President Henry Wallace.
Wallace had split with the Democratic Party over President Harry Truman’s hawkish stance on the Cold War. Truman fired Wallace as secretary of commerce.
“In 1948, the Progressive Party was a direct extension of Moscow,” Kengor said.
4. Nixon and Foreign Meddling in 1960 and 1968
5. Ted Kennedy and the Soviets
Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., covertly reached out to Soviet leaders during two election cycles, while he was a presidential candidate in 1980 and ahead of the 1984 election, according to Cold War-era KGB documents obtained by Kengor, the Grove City College professor.
According to Soviet archives, Kennedy sent former Sen. John Tunney, the California Democrat defeated for re-election in 1976, as a liaison to Soviet officials in March 1980. As documented in Kengor’s book, “Dupes,” Tunney informed them that Kennedy supported the policies of then-Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, and was concerned about an “atmosphere of tensions” in the Cold War “fueled by Carter.”
Kennedy again made overtures to the Soviets in 1983, seeking to prevent Reagan’s re-election. Related correspondence first was reported Feb. 2, 1992, in the Times of London under the headline “Teddy, the KGB and the Top Secret File.”
6. Chinagate and Clinton’s Re-election
6 Times Foreign Powers Meddled in Our Elections
2. World War II and the 1940 Election
Some recently reported Russian methods are surprisingly similar to how an ally interfered with the 1940 presidential election, planting fake news stories in newspapers and making public what were believed to be private communications.
President Franklin Roosevelt wanted to intervene in World War II, but the American public and Congress—remembering World War I—had little appetite for what seemed like another European gambit.
Britain, besieged by Nazi Germany, thought one way to get American help was to reshape American public opinion.
“This was literally a matter of changing the establishment’s view of U.S. support for the war,” said Morris, who writes about British espionage in the 1940 election in his book “Rogue Spooks.”
3. The Soviets Back a Political Party
In 1948, the Soviet Union was largely behind the Progressive Party, a third party whose candidate for president was former Vice President Henry Wallace.
Wallace had split with the Democratic Party over President Harry Truman’s hawkish stance on the Cold War. Truman fired Wallace as secretary of commerce.
“In 1948, the Progressive Party was a direct extension of Moscow,” Kengor said.
4. Nixon and Foreign Meddling in 1960 and 1968
5. Ted Kennedy and the Soviets
Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., covertly reached out to Soviet leaders during two election cycles, while he was a presidential candidate in 1980 and ahead of the 1984 election, according to Cold War-era KGB documents obtained by Kengor, the Grove City College professor.
According to Soviet archives, Kennedy sent former Sen. John Tunney, the California Democrat defeated for re-election in 1976, as a liaison to Soviet officials in March 1980. As documented in Kengor’s book, “Dupes,” Tunney informed them that Kennedy supported the policies of then-Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, and was concerned about an “atmosphere of tensions” in the Cold War “fueled by Carter.”
Kennedy again made overtures to the Soviets in 1983, seeking to prevent Reagan’s re-election. Related correspondence first was reported Feb. 2, 1992, in the Times of London under the headline “Teddy, the KGB and the Top Secret File.”
6. Chinagate and Clinton’s Re-election
6 Times Foreign Powers Meddled in Our Elections