WASHINGTON: Russian President Vladimir Putin knew of and likely directed a Russian effort to manipulate the 2020 US presidential campaign to benefit former President Donald Trump with 鈥渕isleading or unsubstantiated allegations鈥� against challenger Joe Biden, US intelligence officials said on Tuesday.
The assessment was made in a 15-page report into election interference released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It underscored allegations that Trump鈥檚 allies played into Moscow鈥檚 hands by amplifying claims made against Biden by Russian-linked Ukrainian figures in the run-up to the Nov. 3 election. Biden, a Democrat, defeated Trump, a Republican, and became president on Jan. 20.
US intelligence agencies found other attempts to sway voters, including a 鈥渕ulti-pronged covert influence campaign鈥� by Iran intended to undercut Trump鈥檚 support. Trump pulled the United States out of an international nuclear deal with Iran and imposed fresh sanctions.
The report also punctured a counter-narrative pushed by Trump鈥檚 allies that China was interfering on Biden鈥檚 behalf, concluding that Beijing 鈥渄id not deploy interference efforts.鈥�
鈥淐hina sought stability in its relationship with the United States and did not view either election outcome as being advantageous enough for China to risk blowback if caught,鈥� the report said.
US officials said they also saw efforts by Cuba, Venezuela and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to influence the election, although 鈥渋n general, we assess that they were smaller in scale than those conducted by Russia and Iran.鈥�
US intelligence agencies and former Special Counsel Robert Mueller previously concluded that Russia also interfered in the 2016 US election to boost Trump鈥檚 candidacy with a campaign of propaganda aimed at harming his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.
The Russian, Chinese and Cuban Embassies in Washington did not immediately return messages seeking comment. The Iranian mission to the United Nations and the Venezuelan Ministry of Information also did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Moscow, Beijing and Tehran routinely deny allegations of cyberespionage and subterfuge.
The new report said Putin knew of and 鈥減robably directed鈥� the election interference efforts. As an example, Putin 鈥渉ad purview over the activities of Andriy Derkach,鈥� a Ukrainian lawmaker who played a prominent role in the effort and has ties to Russian intelligence, the report said.
鈥淲e assess Russian leaders preferred that former President Trump win re-election despite perceiving some of his administration鈥檚 policies as anti-Russia. We have high confidence in this assessment,鈥� the report stated.
A key role was also played by a second man with Russian intelligence ties, Konstantin Kilimnik, according to the report. Kilimnik and Derkach met with and gave materials to Trump-linked people to push for formal investigations, and Derkach released four audio recordings to try to implicated Biden in corruption, it said.
That refers to conversations that right-wing figures in the United States cited as evidence that Biden tried to protect his son Hunter from a probe in Ukraine.
Kilimnik was an associate of Paul Manafort, who served as Trump鈥檚 2016 campaign chairman. Trump last year pardoned Manafort for a criminal conviction that stemmed from Mueller鈥檚 investigation.
Russian agents also tried to 鈥減hish鈥� employees of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, 鈥渓ikely in an attempt to gather information related to President Biden鈥檚 family,鈥� it said. Hunter Biden had served on Burisma鈥檚 board.
As in the 2016 election, the Russian so-called troll factory formerly known as the Internet Research Agency pushed disparaging stories on social media about Biden and Democrats and complained about censorship by the tech companies, the report said. It also sought to exacerbate US divisions on racial justice issues, the report said.