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EO 13848Executive OrderTrump 45 · R Quiet signal

Executive Order 13848

Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election

This executive order declares a national emergency over foreign election interference and creates a sanctions framework triggered by post-election assessments. It requires intelligence and law enforcement reports within 45 days after any federal election, followed by potential blocking sanctions, visa bans, and sectoral penalties against foreign persons and entities found to have interfered.

Federal Register Open PDF 83 FR 46843

Impact dates

  1. Attorney General and DHS evaluation report due after receiving DNI assessment

  2. DNI assessment of foreign interference due after any U.S. election

  3. Agency framework for implementation process due

Key directives

  • DNI shall conduct assessment within 45 days after conclusion of any U.S. election
  • Attorney General and DHS Secretary shall deliver evaluation report within 45 days of receiving DNI assessment
  • Secretary of State, Treasury, AG, DHS, and DNI shall develop implementation framework within 30 days of order date
  • Treasury shall impose blocking sanctions on foreign persons determined to have engaged in election interference
  • State and Treasury shall jointly recommend additional calibrated sanctions including sectoral measures
  • Entry of sanctioned aliens suspended as immigrants and nonimmigrants

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • National emergency declared
  • Blocking sanctions authority activated
  • Visa suspension for sanctioned persons effective

Near term (90d)

  • Agency framework due within 30 days (by October 12, 2018)
  • First potential use after any post-November 2018 federal election

Long term

  • Sanctions trigger mechanism persists indefinitely for all future federal elections
  • Potential sectoral sanctions against foreign business entities

Risks & tensions

  • Threshold for 'materially affected' in Section 1(b) creates interpretive discretion that could politicize findings
  • Requirement that election protection efforts be 'insulated from political bias' (Section 1(f)) is aspirational with no enforcement mechanism
  • Sectoral sanctions recommendation (Section 3(b)) targets 'largest business entities' by country, potentially creating extraterritorial economic spillover
  • No prior notice requirement (Section 9) raises due process concerns for persons with constitutional presence in U.S.
  • Vague scope of 'undermining public confidence' in 'foreign interference' definition (Section 8(f)) could capture legal speech and information activities
Executive Order 13848: Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election · Executive Orders