Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an effort to help Republican Donald Trump's electoral chances by discrediting Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential campaign, US intelligence agencies said in an assessment.
Russia's objectives were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate former Secretary of State Clinton, make it harder for her to win and harm her presidency if she did, an unclassified report released on Friday by the top US intelligence agency said.
We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments.
Russian authorities, which have previously denied interfering in the US elections, offered no immediate comment on the report on Saturday, and the reaction of the country's media was low-key.
The report, although it omitted classified details, was the US government's starkest public description of what it says was an unprecedented Russian campaign to manipulate the American body politic.
Reports of Russian interference in the already divisive election have roiled Washington, even as the US Congress on Friday certified Trump's victory in the Electoral College. Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million ballots.
The report's conclusions, though lacking details of how the Russians may have relayed the material to WikiLeaks and others, will give ammunition to Democrats and Trump's fellow Republicans in Congress who want tougher action against Russia, setting the scene for a potential showdown with Trump.
It could also give a boost to members of Congress seeking an independent, bipartisan investigation of Russian hacking.
(Copy edited for length. Published in an arrangement with Reuters.)
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