According to a US intelligence report released on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin asked for Russia to interfere in the November presidential election in the United States in order to promote Donald Trump’s victory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has likely led efforts to try to reverse the outcome of last November’s US presidential election in favor of Donald Trump, a US intelligence report released Tuesday (March 16th) shows.
The 15-page report, released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, supports long-standing accusations that some of Donald Trump’s lieutenants have played Russia’s game by amplifying accusations made by Ukrainian figures linked to Moscow against Joe Biden, then Democratic rival of the outgoing Republican president, ahead of the November ballot.
It includes new elements indicating that Vladimir Putin supervised or, at the very least, ordered interference in the US presidential election for the benefit of Donald Trump.
“Dirt” the image of Joe Biden
According to the document, Ukrainian figures backed by Moscow, such as parliamentarian Andrey Derkach, have recruited political figures in the United States – whose identities are not specified – with the aim that they “smear” Joe’s image. Biden and his son Hunter Biden, targets of repeated corruption charges by Donald Trump.
Andrey Derkach, who met Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani in 2019, is considered by US intelligence services to be an individual whose movements have been tracked, if not guided, by Vladimir Putin.
“Other senior officials were also involved in Russia’s electoral interference efforts – including security and intelligence officials who, in our assessment, would not have acted without at least the tacit endorsement of Putin, ”the report says.
Iranian attempt
The American intelligence services indicate in the report published Tuesday that they also found traces of other foreign attempts to tilt the American vote last year, including a campaign of “covert influence at several levels” led by Iran in the goal of reducing the support enjoyed by Donald Trump.
Moreover, the document belies the alternative account proposed by allies of Donald Trump according to which China interfered in the November ballot for the benefit of Joe Biden. “China has sought stability in its relationship with the United States and has seen neither of the two possible election outcomes represent a sufficient advantage that China risks backfire if caught in the act,” is it written.
Asked about the possibility of upcoming sanctions against Russia, reported by CNN, a representative of the Biden administration said that the US president had “clearly” indicated in the past that Washington could take action in the face of attempts at destabilization by Moscow, noting US moves to respond to Russia’s alleged use of a chemical weapon against opponent Alexei Navalny. “There will be more soon,” the representative said, on condition of anonymity.