United States Intelligence Report Finds the Russians Interfered in 2020 to Help Donald Trump Again

The report by the United States Director of National Intelligence, based on the findings of the multiple American intelligence agencies, found foreign interference in the 2020 presidential elections: https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/ICA-declass-16MAR21.pdf Like in 2016, the tyrant of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, an ex-Soviet intelligence officer, directed a campaign of interference to promote the candidacy of Donald Trump and denigrate his Democratic opponent and minimizing their significant interference in 2016, while also dividing Americans against each other and undermining confidence in elections. The Islamist terrorist sponsor Iran also interfered, according to the report, but against Trump, while Communist China interfered less significantly than Russia and Iran, after concluding that neither major party candidate would be preferable and preferring stability in Sino-American relations. The report found minor interference by Hezbollah (the Lebanese Shi’ite terrorists backed by Iran), Communist Cuba and Socialist Venezuela. There was also some disruption of the election process by cybercriminals, but measures taken after 2016 to thwart foreign hacking appeared to have deterred Russian hacking of voting systems. Russians had penetrated state and even some county election systems in 2016, but it is unknown to what affect. However, the Russians did steal information from the Democrats and their presidential nominee’s campaign in 2016 by hacking and published the information through a cut-out, Wikileaks. The Trump campaign, which had welcomed and accepted Russian interference and had advanced knowledge of the publication of the stolen information, coordinated its messaging with the release of the Russian-hacked information, according to the Republican Special Counsel and the GOP-led Senate Intelligence Committee, which also found the Trump campaign manager gave internal polling information to a Russian intelligence officer. Russia interfered in both the Democratic and Republican Party primaries to back favored candidates, including Trump, in a “sweeping and systematic” campaign, according to the Special Counsel. Putin’s interference in American politics had begun after its invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and increased with the 2016 election to include open propaganda through state-controlled media, Internet trolls, fake social media accounts that were automated (bots), social media ads, posing as a reporter to plant favorable stories, and campaign contributions, among other interference. Other hostile foreigners saw how successful the Russians were and are now copying their methods, the report confirms, even on other matters. Trump and his supporters interfered with the Special Counsel’s investigation and escaped prosecution and removal from office. There were sanctions imposed on Russians for election interference, but the intelligence report suggests Putin was not sufficiently deterred from interfering again.