?i?nitrd Btatrs germ?in

WASHINGTON, DC 20510

August 7, 2013

The Honorable Steven T. Mnuchin
Secretary

United States Department of the Treasury
1500 Avenue, NW.
Washington, DC. 20220

Dear Secretary Mnuchin:

We write to ask that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which
you chair, review the transaction between AltPoint Capital, a venture fund whose largest investor
is Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin, and ByteGrid LLC, a US. web hosting and data center
company.

ByteGrid hosts Maryland?s voter registration system, candidacy and election management
system, online ballot delivery system, and unof?cial election night results website. Access to
these systems could provide a foreign person with ties to a foreign government with information
that could be used for intelligence or other purposes adverse to U.S. interests. For that reason,
AltPoint Capital?s relationship with ByteGrid must be carefully scrutinized, and if the
administration determines that it poses a threat to national security, appropriate remedies must be
pursued.

We know that our elections are under threat from foreign cyberattacks and disinformation
efforts. Our democratic process can also be manipulated through foreign investment in elections
infrastructure. In July, the Federal Bureau of Investigation noti?ed Maryland of?cials that Mr.
Potanin had made a substantial investment in a ?rm used by the Maryland State Board of
Elections to register voters and deliver online ballots.

In response to this noti?cation, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Senate President Thomas V.
Mike Miller, and House Speaker Michael Busch wrote to the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to request that the DHS Office of Cybersecurity and
Communications furnish technical assistance to evaluate the network used by the State Board of
Elections, including auditing its integrity.

Currently, CFIUS is authorized to review foreign investments in US. companies that result in
foreign control of the company. If an investment poses a threat to national security, it can be
blocked. If either AltPoint Capital or ByteGrid did not ?le a notice with CF IUS, the Committee
has the ability to look back at any completed transaction that results in control and threatens
national security and take steps to address the national security threat, including requiring
divestment.

In addition, last week, Congress approved the National Defense Authorization Act which
includes the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act This legislation
enhances our national security by strengthening the CFIUS review process. Speci?cally, once
enacted, the new law would allow CFIUS to review transactions beyond just those that could
result in foreign control of a US. business, to include ?other investments? by a foreign person in
a US. business involved in US. critical infrastructure. Critical infrastructure, as defined by

DH S, includes election infrastructure such as voter registration databases and associated
systems, systems used to manage elections, voting systems, storage facilities for election and
voting systems, and polling places, including early voting locations. To that end, on July 31,
2013, Senator Van Chris Van Hollen, along with Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo and
Ranking Member Sherrod Brown engaged in a colloquy af?rming that Congress intended
FIRMMA to cover elections infrastructure. Secretary Mnuchin, you played a critical role in
advancing this legislation, and it is expected that President Trump will sign it into law in short
order.

Based on existing authorities and new authorities recently given to CFIUS by Congress, we
resIJectfully request that CFIUS provide assurance that it has already conducted full and rigorous
investigation into AltPoint Capital?s investment in ByteGrid LLC, that it is in the process of
conducting an investigation, or that it will review the transaction in order to address concems
that Mr. Petanin?s relationship with the Russian Government may threaten Maryland?s and
America?s elections infrastructure and undermine the integrity of our elections.

Sincerely,

Chris Van Hollen'
United States Senator United States Senator