US President Donald Trump has announced the declassification of intelligence documents alleging Chinese interference in US elections and ordered a new federal investigation into the claims, arguing that the revelations expose serious vulnerabilities in the country's election system.

In a televised address from the White House on Thursday, Trump alleged that China gained access to information from approximately 220 million US voter records before the 2020 presidential election. He described the incident as "the largest compromise of election data in history" and said it represented a significant threat to American democracy.

Trump directed the Director of National Intelligence and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate the allegations and determine the full extent of the reported data breach. At the same time, the White House released a collection of declassified intelligence documents and related materials on a newly launched website.

During his 24-minute speech, Trump argued that the alleged breach demonstrated that the US electoral system remains vulnerable to manipulation and corruption. He also renewed his call for Congress to approve the SAVE Act, legislation that would require voter photo identification, proof of US citizenship for voter registration, and expanded federal access to voter registration records.

The president also criticized television networks that chose not to broadcast his address live, accusing them of participating in an effort to suppress information and suggesting they should face regulatory consequences.

However, Trump's allegations were met with swift criticism from Democratic lawmakers and intelligence experts. Senator Mark Warner, Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, dismissed the claims as unfounded, noting that previous US intelligence assessments concluded that China did not attempt to alter votes or change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

A 2021 assessment by the US intelligence community similarly found no evidence that any foreign government successfully interfered with technical aspects of the 2020 election, including voter registration systems, ballots, vote counting, or election results. Multiple post-election audits and court rulings also found no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

China strongly rejected Trump's accusations. Liu Chang, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy, stated that China "has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the United States."

Among the declassified materials released by the administration was a CIA report indicating that while China sought information related to Joe Biden's presidential campaign, US intelligence assessed that Beijing did not intend to conduct covert operations to influence the election outcome at that time.