45 days from now, all this changes…..
Keep track of who say what and who blames who…..
Executive Order 13848, titled “Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election,” was signed by President Donald J. Trump on September 12, 2018.
It declares a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the National Emergencies Act. The order finds that the ability of persons located outside the United States (in whole or substantial part) to interfere in or undermine public confidence in U.S. elections—including through unauthorized access to election/campaign infrastructure or the covert distribution of propaganda and disinformation—constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy.
Key Provisions
• Post-election assessments: Within 45 days after a U.S. election, the Director of National Intelligence (in consultation with other agencies) must assess any information indicating that a foreign government or its agents acted with the intent or purpose of interfering. The assessment covers the nature of any interference, methods used, persons involved, and responsible governments.
• Within 45 days of receiving that assessment, the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security must report on effects on election infrastructure, vote tabulation, transmission of results, or campaign-related infrastructure, plus recommendations.
• Sanctions authority: The Secretary of the Treasury (in consultation with the Secretaries of State, Attorney General, and Homeland Security) may block property and interests in property of foreign persons determined to have:
• Directly or indirectly engaged in, sponsored, concealed, or been complicit in foreign interference.
• Materially assisted, sponsored, or provided support for such activities or blocked persons.
• Been owned or controlled by, or acted on behalf of, such persons.
• Additional calibrated sanctions (including on major business entities in key sectors of a country whose government supported interference) can be recommended to the President.
• “Foreign interference” is defined to include covert, fraudulent, deceptive, or unlawful actions (or attempted actions) by a foreign government or its agents undertaken with the purpose or effect of influencing, undermining confidence in, or altering the result/reported result of an election, or undermining public confidence in election processes or institutions.
The order notes that, at the time of signing, there was no evidence of a foreign power altering the outcome or vote tabulation in any U.S. election, while acknowledging historical efforts to exploit the U.S. system and the increased vulnerabilities from digital communications (referencing the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment).
Current Status
The national emergency remains in effect. It has been continued annually. The most recent continuation notice was signed August 31, 2026, and published in the Federal Register on September 2, 2026, extending it for one year beyond September 12, 2026.
OFAC implemented the order through the Foreign Interference in U.S. Elections Sanctions Regulations (31 CFR Part 579). Designations appear on the SDN List with the identifier [ELECTION-EO13848]. Early enforcement included actions against Russian actors linked to 2018 midterm influence efforts (with Treasury noting no evidence of prevented voting, changed counts, or disrupted tallying), and later designations have included Iranian actors in subsequent cycles.
The order authorizes financial and related sanctions against foreign actors. It does not authorize canceling elections, changing vote totals, seizing domestic election infrastructure, or altering the results of U.S. elections. Primary responsibility for managing elections remains with state, territory, and local authorities.
Official text is available in the Federal Register (83 FR 46843; document 2018-20203) and on government sites such as govinfo.gov.