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Florida governor says Russia hacked the voter databases of two counties in Florida in 2016, but he can't say which two
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Florida governor says Russia hacked the voter databases of two counties in Florida in 2016, but he can't say which two

DeSantis says the FBI made him sign a nondisclosure agreement

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has revealed that Russia had hacked into the election databases in two Florida counties in 2016.

Here's what we know

When special counsel Robert Mueller released his report, it included a mention that hackers associated with Russia had managed to gain access to election information in "at least one" Florida county in 2016. The hack had been carried out by the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service.

DeSantis was briefed by the FBI on Friday. On Tuesday, he revealed that the FBI had told him that the hack had occurred in two counties. He could not, however, say which two of Florida's 67 counties were affected. Florida's secretary of state, law enforcement officials, and DeSantis's own chief of staff were also present for the FBI's briefing.

"I'm not allowed to name the counties. I signed a [non]disclosure agreement," DeSantis said, adding that the FBI had "asked me to sign" the agreement, "so I'm going to respect their wishes."

DeSantis did not seem to know why he had been asked to sign this nondisclosure agreement.

"I think they think if we name the counties, that may reveal information to the perpetrator that we know what they did, but you'd have to ask them," he said, adding that he thought that the counties "should be named."

What else?

DeSantis assured Floridians that while there had been an "intrusion into the supervisor of election networks," it "did not affect any voting or anything like that."

He said that the voter data that the hack had accessed "was public anyways" but that "nevertheless those were intrusions."

On Thursday, the FBI will also brief Floridia members of Congress.

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