Declassified Intelligence Report Reveals Putin Intervened in U.S. Election

President Barack Obama directed the National Intelligence Community to conduct a full investigation and to produce an extensive report assessing Russian activities in the recent 2016 Presidential election. The declassified version of the report was released Friday, January 6, 2017, and the revelations are frightening for a country founded on democratic principles.

Assessing Russian activities and intentions in the recent election have provided insight into possible motives – namely, a Trump presidency. Research from the declassified version of the Intelligence Report omits full supporting methodology. It does, however, explain the central concern regarding Russian motivation.

The mission of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence mission is to, “Seek and reduce the uncertainty surrounding foreign activities, capabilities, or leaders’ intentions. This objective is difficult to achieve when seeking to understand complex issues on which foreign actors go to extraordinary lengths to hide or obfuscate their activities,” according to the report.         

Also included in the report is an analytic Process and Cyber Incident Attribution of the assessment. Contents of the National Intelligence report includes scope and sources, key judgments, CIA, FBI, and NSA Assessments on Russia’s influence campaign targeting the 2016 U.S. election. Each intelligence agency has collected information regarding Moscow’s intentions for corrupting the U.S. election process.

The report makes it clear that it does not make any assessment of the impact or outcome of the election, however, the report gives insight from each intelligence agency on the intentions, capabilities, and actions from Russia.     

The National Intelligence report states, “We assess with high confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election, the consistent goals of which were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. When it appeared to Moscow that Secretary Clinton was likely to win the election, the Russian influence campaign then focused on undermining her expected presidency.” 

This report reveals an attack on our republic, the ease in which a foreign adversary can corrupt our political process, and the potential threat to future U.S. elections absent swift retaliation and new defense methods.