Putin 'authorised' Russia meddling in 2020 election to benefit Trump over Biden: US report

Russian President Vladimir Putin likely directed efforts to try to swing the 2020 United States presidential election in favour of former President Donald Trump, stated an American intelligence report released on March 16. The 15-page report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence said that Putin either oversaw or at least approved of the November 3 election meddling to benefit Trump adding heft to the longstanding floating narrative that some of the members of Trump’s cabinet were playing into Moscow’s hands by amplifying allegations against Biden in the run-up to the November 3 election by Russian-linked Ukrainian figures. 

In one of the key judgements of the declassified report, US intelligence assured that there were “no indications” that any foreign element tried to alter the technical aspect of the voting process in the 2020 US Election but added, "We assess that Russian President Putin authorized, and a range of Russian government organisations conducted, influence operations aimed at denigrating President Biden’s candidacy and the Democratic Party, supporting former President Trump, undermining public confidence in the electoral process, and exacerbating sociopolitical divisions in the US.”

However, the report also stated that, unlike the 2016 presidential elections, the US officials were not able to find persistent Russian cyber efforts to gain access to election infrastructure. But ODNI report added, “We have high confidence in our assessment; Russian state and proxy actors who all serve the Kremlin’s interests worked to affect US public perceptions in a consistent manner.”

Iran carried out ‘covert influence’ against Trump

Apart from Russia, the ODNI report also mentioned the “multi-pronged covert influence” with an aim to hinder the reelection bid by former US President Donald Trump indirectly. Another key judgement of the declassified report stated, “We assess that Iran carried out a multi-pronged covert influence campaign intended to undercut former President Trump’s reelection prospects, though without directly promoting his rivals, undermine public confidence in the electoral process and US institutions, and sow division and exacerbate societal tensions in the US.” 

In the case of Iran, the United States intelligence claimed that it was Iranian Supreme Leader Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei who authorised the campaign that was implemented by the military and intelligence services of the Islamic Republic.