Trump Delivers Primetime Address Accusing China of Hacking 220 Million US Voter Files, Declassifies Intelligence Reports

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - President Donald Trump delivered a primetime address from the White House on Late Thursday, accusing China of carrying out what he described as the largest compromise of election data in history, claiming Beijing illicitly acquired 220 million US voter files over a period of years beginning during the 2020 election cycle, and announcing the declassification of intelligence documents he said would prove the claim.

"Beijing carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China's illicit acquisition of 220 million US voter files," Trump said during the address, as CNN reported on Thursday. The files allegedly included names, addresses, phone numbers, voting history, political party preferences, military status, and other sensitive personal data.

Intelligence Suppressed, Trump Claims

Beyond the data breach allegation itself, Trump used the address to accuse members of what he described as the "deep state" within the US intelligence community of actively suppressing information about the extent of Chinese election meddling from both the president and the American public. "Documents show that during this period, dozens of significant CIA and NSA reports about China's election targeting were kept out of the presidential briefing," Trump said, as The Hill reported on Thursday. "Compounding the travesty, members of the deep state worked to actively suppress and downplay information about the extent of China's sinister election meddling, covering it up from both the president and the American people as nobody thought was possible."

Trump called his claims "irrefutable" and promised the release of previously classified intelligence files to support them. The White House simultaneously released a trove of newly declassified documents in conjunction with the speech.

FBI Director Separately Declassifies CCP Report

The primetime address came alongside a separate disclosure from FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who declassified an August 2020 intelligence report from the FBI's Albany Field Office alleging a Chinese Communist Party plot to interfere in the 2020 presidential election. As The Daily Dots reported, the report claims China used TikTok data to create fraudulent US driver's licenses, enabling ineligible voters to cast tens of thousands of mail-in ballots. Director Patel stated in a post on X that the documents "detail alarming allegations related to the 2020 US election" and that he "immediately declassified the material and turned the documents over to Chairman Grassley for further review."

US Customs and Border Protection intercepted nearly 20,000 counterfeit driver's licenses destined for the US in mid-2020, potentially corroborating elements of the intelligence, though officials familiar with the matter told Just the News that the original report was recalled within weeks and never fully pursued despite that seizure.

What US Intelligence Has Previously Concluded

The claims land against a complicated backdrop of prior intelligence assessments. As CBS News reported on Thursday, a 2020 intelligence report declassified four years ago found that China had obtained multiple states' voter registration data "to conduct public opinion analysis on the 2020 US general election," but US intelligence agencies concluded that no foreign powers, including China, tried to interfere with ballots or vote-counting systems. Election officials have consistently said they are confident that voting machines are adequately secure and that no evidence has been found of foreign intrusions that changed the results of past elections.

Trump suggested on Thursday that China worked to "undermine my first administration and our 2020 campaign," along with efforts to influence the 2018 midterm elections, when Democrats won control of the House of Representatives. He also accused China of leveraging contacts with US businesses to turn against him and of identifying US journalists to generate negative coverage.

SAVE America Act and the 2026 Midterm Context

The address comes as Trump presses Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, among other electoral changes. As CBC reported on Thursday, Democratic critics have framed the speech as a political maneuver ahead of the 2026 midterms. "This is about stopping people from voting to steal the 2026 election," said Representative Planas, who argued the legislation "would stop hundreds of thousands of people from voting" by limiting acceptable forms of identification.

Some House and Senate Republicans were also notably unenthusiastic about the address. As The Hill reported on Thursday, many GOP members of Congress said they see little benefit in revisiting the 2020 election while competitive midterms lie ahead, with several expressing private concern that the speech's backward-looking framing could distract from the party's legislative agenda.

China's Response

China has consistently denied engaging in cyberattacks or election interference. "China firmly opposes and combats cyberattacks and cyber theft in all forms," a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said in response to earlier related reporting. No formal Chinese government response to Thursday's primetime address was immediately available.