How the U.S. Could Respond to the DNC Breach

Laura Bate wrote for Slate on how the United States could respond to Russia in the wake of the DNC breach.

After a possible Russian attempt to influence U.S. elections by hacking the Democratic National Committee, the FBI has announced that it will investigate the origins of the hack. International interference in the democratic process has a long and storied past, but inhibiting self-determination is generally considered unacceptable and warrants a response. 

But what should that response be? Below are six different paths the United States could take to answer the data breach. The choices will depend on many factors—the evidence supporting Russian involvement, the state of U.S.—Russian relations, the challenge of avoiding the appearance of using the tools of government to assist the Democratic candidate. Whatever the United States does or does not do will set an important precedent worldwide.