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Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized operations to influence the US presidential election last November, according to a declassified report by US officials, reporting that the Kremlin and Iran are heavily involved in determining the outcome of the race, but there is no evidence that no factors have changed the voting or affected the electoral process in any way, the Associated Press reported.
According to a 15-page document released Tuesday by the office of the director of national intelligence, Russian President Vladimir Putin knew of the covert operations and likely led them. The report also notes Iran’s attempts to undermine confidence in the elections and prevent the reelection of Donald Trump.
Moscow’s efforts have been based on Influence Trump’s allies and his administration to make misleading or unproven accusations against then-presidential candidate Joe Biden..
The report does not mention the names of the individuals, but it is likely the activities of Trump’s former personal attorney. Rudy giuliani, who has repeatedly brought corruption charges against Biden and his family in connection with Ukraine, the New York Times reported.
The declassified report is the most comprehensive assessment by US intelligence of foreign attempts to influence the 2020 elections. The report says China has considered such actions but ultimately concluded that they would fail and rather lead to retaliation.
The intelligence report, as well as accompanying reports from the Ministries of Justice and National Security, reaffirmed the intelligence agencies’ findings of foreign interference in the 2016 election in favor of Trump and that the Kremlin supported his reelection in 2020.
Allegations of falsification of electoral results are rejected
In addition, allegations of falsification of election results from abroad were roundly rejected, and allegations by Republicans of Chinese interference in support of Democrats were questioned.
Despite the external threats to the vote last November, the services found no indications that any external actor had tried to intervene through changes in the technical aspects of the electoral process, including voter registration, vote counting, summarize or communicate the results.
This document is the latest official confirmation that the election was fair, although Trump supporters continue to make false accusations of interference from internal and external actors and refuse to accept Biden’s victory. Several courts and even the Trump-appointed Justice Department leadership have denied the allegations of massive voter fraud. The document shows that despite Trump’s fierce attacks on the legitimacy of the elections, intelligence officials believe that Russia has been looking for people close to Trump to turn the vote in his favor.
The report, described by Russia as “insolvent,” takes on the politically delicate task of identifying foreign opponents of the United States whose candidacies they supported during last year’s elections, a topic that dominated American news last year, the AP notes.
Trump, whose campaign in 2016 was supported by hacking attacks by Russian intelligence and covert operations on social media, stuck to the August assessment of US services, according to which porcelain prefers that Biden be president, although the same document said Russia works for the reelection of Trump and against Biden.
However, the report released Tuesday is clear: In the end, China did not intervene in favor of any candidate and “considered but did not act.” operations aimed at influencing the outcome of the elections. “China is striving to achieve stability in its relations with the United States and did not believe that choosing a particular candidate would bring it sufficient benefits to risk possible retaliation if its intervention is found,” the report said.
Instead, the main threats came from Russia and Iran, albeit with different intentions and different means, the report states.
Russia has tried to discredit Biden’s candidacy because it believes that his election as president is against the interests of the Kremlin.. However, as the elections approach, the Russians have taken some steps to prepare for a Democratic administration.
The report also says Putin has authorized operations aimed at denigrating Biden and helping Trump, including shaking confidence in the elections and exacerbating divisions in American society.
It is also observed that there were attempts to influence the elections by Cuba, Venezuela and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, but they were on a smaller scale than the campaigns of Russia and Iran.
US intelligence believes that the campaign Iran to avoid Trump’s reelection it was most likely authorized by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In October, the former FBI director announced a “narrow focus” operation. It’s a mass mailing to Democratic voters in key states, with the far-right group Proud Boys falsely identified as the sender of the messages, threatening recipients if they don’t vote for Trump.
According to the report, Iran’s campaign was more aggressive in the last election than in 2016 and continued even after the winner was announced to spread disagreements in the United States, probably because Tehran believes it will prevent a possible re-election of Trump. .
Iran has tried to take advantage of weaknesses in the electoral sites of individual states and has managed to engage US organizations related to the electoral infrastructure as part of its broader efforts in various sectors around the world, but it has not tried to manipulate the vote. Or affect the electoral infrastructure, according to the report.
Biden: Putin “will pay the price”
Joe Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin would suffer the consequences of leading efforts to influence the 2020 US presidential election in favor of Donald Trump, and this will happen soon, Reuters reported.
“You will pay a price”Biden said in an interview with ABC television. When asked what the consequences would be, the President of the United States replied: “You will see it soon.”
At the same time, the US president noted that “there are places where it is in our mutual interest to work together,” such as the renewal of the START nuclear agreement.
According to him, he and Putin know each other.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9QIl6heBnc
“I know him relatively well.”Biden said, adding that his own experience shows that “The most important thing when dealing with foreign leaders is getting to know each other.”.
He said he thought the Russian leader had no soul. When asked if he considered Putin a murderer, Biden replied: “Yes.”
Regarding the intelligence report, a member of the Biden administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the president had said “clearly” that the United States should respond to the destabilizing actions of Russia. According to the source, after a series of actions related to the assassination attempt on Alexei Navalny, there will soon be “many more” actions, Reuters reported.
The allegations in the US intelligence report about any Russian interference in the US elections are not confirmed by any fact, and Washington is trying to maintain Russia’s negative image. This is stated in a statement issued last night by the Russian embassy in Washington, quoted by TASS.
The Russian ambassador in Washington was summoned to Moscow
Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, has been summoned to Moscow for consultations to analyze Russian-American relations. This became clear overnight from a statement released by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zaharova, world agencies reported.
He did not give a specific reason for Antonov’s return, but said the two countries had a difficult relationship, which brought Washington to a standstill in recent years.
Previously, the embassy said the report was “another series of unfounded accusations” to Russia and a continuation of the practice for “megaphone diplomacy” from United States.
Calling President Vladimir Putin “a murderer” and threatening to “make him pay” is an attack on Russia, said Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament).
“This is hysteria of helplessness. Putin is our president and the attacks against him are attacks against our country,” he added. wrote in his account in the network “Telegram” Volodin.
“With these statements, Biden insulted the citizens of our country.”added Volodin, the second person in the Russian presidential administration from 2011 to 2016.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov regretted that the beginning of the term of any American president is related to the introduction of numerous sanctions against Russia.
“We are obliged to take all necessary measures to insure against the risks associated with possible sanctions and to protect the interests of our country as much as possible. The actions of our opponents in this case are difficult to predict. Therefore, all probabilities and behavioral scenarios are considered. “,, Peskov said.
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