The State Department is pulling back from commenting on or criticizing elections overseas unless there's a clear and compelling U.S. foreign policy interest in doing so. In new guidance issued Thursday, the department said that U.S. embassies and consulates abroad should refrain from issuing statements that invoke any particular ideology. The cable, which was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and obtained by The Associated Press, said “messages should avoid opining on the fairness or integrity of an electoral process." The department has for decades issued statements highly critical of or questioning the legitimacy of certain elections, notably in authoritarian countries. That's changing under the Trump administration.
