Deputy Secretary of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien said in Bucharest on Tuesday that the US government is concerned about foreign interference it has observed in connection with the Romanian elections. He stressed that Washington supports the investigation of the authorities in Bucharest and has also offered advice in this regard.
After the declassification of the documents by the CSAT on December 4, the authorities in Bucharest have not communicated any more information about the alleged irregularities related to the presidential campaign.
A senior official of the US State Department, Deputy Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien, launched an exhortation in Bucharest on Tuesday regarding the investigation of the alleged irregularities related to the 2024 presidential election campaign: Follow the money.
Asked what the US government’s position is on allegations of Russian interference in the Romanian elections, O’Brien said that Washington sees foreign interference in connection with these elections. “The US government supports democracy, we want the Romanian people to make the choice they believe is right for them. And we see foreign interference in connection with these elections, both a pattern that has been attributed to Russia in other cases, on social media and other manipulations, and very clearly, according to Romanian reports, a Russian intrusion into public institutions,” O’Brien said, in a meeting with journalists at the US embassy in Bucharest.
“And this is worrying, because it makes it more difficult for the Romanian people to make decisions. And we want Romanians to decide for Romania, without this foreign interference,” he added.
Asked whether the US had its own intelligence on possible Russian interference, the official stressed that Washington trusted Bucharest’s intelligence. “We have great confidence in what the Romanian government has said,” he said.
Regarding the investigation carried out by the Romanian authorities, O’Brien said that if he were Romanian he would simply ask “who pays for what” and “who benefits.”
“We have announced that we support the investigation in any way we can. But, again, it is a Romanian investigation, the Romanians make their own sovereign decisions. If I were Romanian, I would ask who is paying, for what, and who will benefit from a certain outcome. And that will go a long way in determining who can be trusted and who cannot,” he observed.
“And a lot of this depends on courageous investigative journalism. Because that is where a lot of the stories come from, not from the secret services, but from strong, quality journalism. So I encourage everyone to support independent journalism,” the American official added.
On December 6, 2024, the Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of the presidential elections, won by Călin Georgescu, who was to enter the presidential final alongside Elena Lasconi. The elections were annulled based on declassified documents received by the CSAT from the Romanian intelligence services- SRI, SIE, as well as MAI and STS.
The secret service documents show that Georgescu violated electoral legislation regarding the financing of the presidential election campaign, after reporting zero expenses to the Permanent Electoral Authority, while the SRI and the MIA indicated that the financing of the TikTok campaign was carried out by Bogdan Peşchir and amounted to one million euros. Also, the documents declassified by the CSAT say that there were actions by a state cyber actor on the IT&C infrastructures supporting the electoral process and that Romania is a target for aggressive Russian hybrid actions.
According to Romania’s Foreign Intelligence Service, SIE, Romania “has become a priority for Russia’s hostile actions, with the Kremlin’s growing interest in influencing (at least) the mood and agenda in Romanian society in the electoral context.”
After the declassification of the documents by the CSAT on December 4, the Bucharest authorities have not communicated any further information about the alleged irregularities related to the presidential campaign.
Georgescu appealed the CCR’s decision to the Bucharest Court of Appeal, but his action was rejected. Georgescu also appealed to the ECHR. The CCR also decided that Klaus Iohannis, whose term ended on December 21, should remain in Cotroceni until a new president is sworn in.
“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone” (John 8:7)