Trump approves sanctions for foreigners meddling in US elections

United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order authorising sanctions against foreigners who meddle in the US elections in future.

The order will allow American intelligence agencies to probe whether the election interference took place or not. After that, the sanctions would be imposed against a particular foreign government if they have interfered with or influenced the polls, The Hill reported.

"This clearly is a process put in place to try and ensure we are doing every possible thing we can to prevent any interference in our election," Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said.

Meanwhile, the Congress is eyeing several laws that would penalise those countries found meddling in the US elections. The order comes ahead of the midterm polls that is slated to be held in November, the report said.

The US intelligence agencies had earlier stated in a report that Russia was responsible for breaching the US electoral system and interfering in the 2016 presidential election.

In July, Coats and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen claimed that Russia had "definitely interfered" in the 2016 presidential election. Coats alleged that Moscow was "no doubt" eyeing the midterm elections as a potential target.