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PUTIN LIKELY DIRECTED 2020 U.S. ELECTION MEDDLING, INTEL REPORT CLAIMS
- By The Financial District
- Mar 17, 2021
- 2 min read
Russian President Vladimir Putin likely directed an effort by Moscow to try to swing the 2020 US presidential election to Donald Trump, according to an American intelligence report released on Tuesday (Wednesday, March 17, 2021, in Manila) that linked the Kremlin and allies of the former president.
The 15-page report, released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, added heft to longstanding allegations that some of Trump’s top lieutenants were playing into Moscow’s hands by amplifying claims made against then-candidate Joe Biden by Russian-linked Ukrainian figures in the run-up to the Nov. 3 election.
It also added new findings that Putin either oversaw or at least approved of the election meddling to benefit Trump, Christopher Bing, Joseph Menn, and Raphael Satter reported for Reuters.
The findings on Putin’s role are likely to receive particular attention given the report’s conclusions that Russia-backed figures such as Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach enlisted unnamed US political figures in their campaign to smear Biden and his son Hunter.
The report named Derkach, who met with Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani in 2019, as someone whose movements were being tracked, if not directed, by Putin.
“Putin had purview over the activities of Andriy Derkach,” the report said.
“Other senior officials also participated in Russia’s election influence efforts - including senior national security and intelligence officials who we assess would not act without receiving at least Putin’s tacit approval.”
US intelligence agencies and former Special Counsel Robert Mueller previously concluded that Russia also interfered in the 2016 U.S. election to boost Trump’s candidacy with a campaign of propaganda aimed at harming his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.
Mueller found extensive contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russia. Trump, while in power, also faced questions about ties by his associates with Russia and Russia-linked figures in Ukraine. The US House of Representatives impeached Trump in 2019 - the first of two times - on charges arising from his request that Ukraine investigate the Bidens
