Former Vice President Joe Biden said during an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday morning that Facebook alerted his staff about Russian bots targeting his campaign.
After saying that he doesn’t know if he can stop Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) given his momentum so far in the Democratic primary, Biden told CBS’ Margaret Brennan about how “the Russians don’t want me to be the nominee” and that “they spent a lot of money on bots on Facebook.”
“And they’ve been taken down saying Biden is a bad guy,” Biden said. “They don’t want Biden running. They’re not — no one’s helping me to try to get the nomination.”
When asked by Brennan who informed him of the Russian bots, Biden said that he has not spoken to the intelligence community but urged it to “inform the rest of us who are running what they told Senator Sanders.”
On Thursday, the New York Times first reported that intelligence officials warned House lawmakers in a classified briefing that Russia was interfering in the 2020 presidential election in an effort to help the President’s re-election. The briefing reportedly angered Trump. On Friday, the Washington Post reported that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was briefed by U.S. officials that Russia is attempting to help his campaign in the Democratic presidential primary.
Biden then said that he wasn’t aware of a date for a briefing by the intelligence community, but that “they should” hold one.
When Brennan pressed Biden to clarify who informed him of the Russian bots, he said that he “didn’t get a call from Facebook” but was “told by my staff that’s what happened.”
Later in the interview, Brennan pointed out that U.S. intelligence has yet to make public what it knows about Russia’s interference in the 2020 election. When Brennan added that the “White House isn’t shedding much light” either, Biden hit back.
“The White House is shedding light,” Biden said. “The President is angry because the intelligence community, in fact, informed Bernie Sanders and I guess others and members of the Intelligence Committee that, in fact, the Russians want to see Trump reelected. And they like Bernie.”
Watch Biden’s remarks below:
Biden: Russians "spent a lot of money on bots on Facebook" pic.twitter.com/VWPVV1PR8V
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) February 23, 2020
