Left to right: Defense Undersecretary for Intelligence Marcell Lettre II, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and United States Cyber Command and National Security Agency Director Admiral Michael Rogers testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the hacking attacks and propaganda campaigns leading up to the 2016 elections, US intelligence agencies said in a declassified report Friday.
What’s more, the Russian efforts had a very specific purpose: shake faith in US democracy and undermine Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. “We further assess Putin and the Russian Government aspired to help President-elect [Donald] Trump’s election chances when possible,” the report ( PDF ) says.
The use of email leaks to affect the US election was “unprecedented,” the report says, adding that Russia has used these techniques in influence campaigns before but not to this degree.
The report, which was issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, summarizes the findings from the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Security Agency.
