WASHINGTON – Florida officials want more information from the U.S. Senate supporting claims made by Sen. Bill Nelson that Russian operatives have penetrated some of his state's election systems.
Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner sent a letter requesting the information Thursday to Sen. Richard Burr, who chairs the Select Committee on Intelligence.
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Citing the Intelligence committee as his source, Nelson told the Tampa Bay Times on Wednesday that operatives have "penetrated" certain counties in the state. He declined to identify the counties, saying it was classified.
Detzner's letter said his office has no evidence to support Nelson's claims. Detzner said he also contacted federal law enforcement and was told they couldn't corroborate the hacking claims either.
Nelson, a Democrat, is running for re-election this fall against Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
Update -Letter from (a clearly skeptical) Florida SecOfState requesting details from Senate Intel Cmte re @SenBillNelson claim that “...Russians are in Florida’s elections..”
— Glenna Milberg (@GlennaWPLG) August 10, 2018
(Miami Dade & Broward Elections Depts say no breaches there)@WPLGLocal10
https://t.co/vYtHXbeOqQ pic.twitter.com/WyAOtu7fdL