‘Detailed’ US intelligence report claims Putin meddled in election to help Trump, hurt Clinton
Assessment by America’s spy agencies is heavy on assertions but light on evidence to back them up, while the incoming president blamed the Democrats for allowing themselves to be hacked
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a hidden campaign to influence America’s presidential election in favour of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, US intelligence agencies declared on Friday in the government’s first formal allegation supporting sensational claims that Trump and sceptics have staunchly resisted.
The intelligence report, an unclassified version of a more detailed classified account given earlier to Trump, the White House and congressional leaders, does not provide any evidence to back up its claims.
Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate secretary Clinton and harm her electability and potential presidency
The president-elect said after his own meeting with the nation’s top intelligence officials that it was clear Russian email hacking did not help him win the election.
The unclassified version was the most detailed public account to date of claims Russia tried to interfere with the US political process, with actions that included hacking into the email accounts of the Democratic National Committee and individual Democrats like Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta. It insists Russia used state-funded propaganda and paid “trolls” to make nasty comments on social media services.
There was no suggestion that Russia affected actual vote counting or tampered with ballot machines.
The report, for the first time, explicitly tied Putin to the hackings, called it the “boldest effort yet” to influence a US election, and said the Russian government provided emails to WikiLeaks – something the website’s founder, Julian Assange, has repeatedly denied. The intelligence agencies also said Russia will try to influence future events in the US and worldwide, particularly among US allies.