Reports emerged on Tuesday night that President Trump is preparing to sign a new executive order that would authorize the use of sanctions on foreign companies and governments that have interfered with elections in the United States. The news, which was leaked by a White House insider, is an important development ahead of the U.S. mid-term elections. It is not yet known if sanctions would be applied for previous cases of election meddling that were discovered by U.S. intelligence agencies.

The executive order, which could be signed as early as Wednesday, will be a statement of intent from the White House. The President wishes to distance himself from accusations of Russian collaboration in the 2016 elections. The executive order could also be interpreted as a sign of good will towards intelligence agencies, with which the President has had a strained relationship since taking office.

Sanctions for Companies, Individuals, and Sovereign States

It is believed that the executive order would allow for sanctions on individual bad actors, companies, and possibly entire countries. According to Reuters News, the executive order would cover election meddling through cybercrime and other means. Reuters quoted a U.S. official as saying “The administration is keen to set a new norm in cyberspace. This is the first step in stating boundaries and publicly announcing our response for bad behavior.”

The quoted official, who has reportedly viewed a draft of the order, has stated federal agencies that discover any form of interference in the democratic process will be required to present their findings to the Director of National Intelligence.

The executive order will be broad in its definition of interference. The spread of propaganda, the unauthorized publication of private information (related to political campaigns), and attacks on digital election infrastructure would all be covered by the order.

Russia Not the Only Foreign Power Likely to Interfere in U.S. Elections

Although Russia has become the country synonymous with election interference, U.S. intelligence agencies believe that China, North Korea, and Iran could also seek to exploit the U.S. public and election infrastructure to sway the outcome of mid-term elections.

President Trump’s order will be welcomed on both sides of the political landscape. Election meddling is a bipartisan issue that not only causes damage to our democratic system, but the undermining of elections can also have long-term financial impacts, the costs of which could take many years to determine.