Russia, Iran and Hezbollah tried to interfere in US elections

Russian president Vladimir Putin authorized influence operations to help Donald Trump in the presidential elections in the United States which took place in November of last year, according to a declassified intelligence report which was published on Tuesday and found extensive maneuvering by the Kremlin and Iran to shape the outcome of the contest, but ultimately there is no evidence that a foreign actor changed the votes or altered the electoral process in any way.

The report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence represents the a more detailed assessment of all foreign threats to the 2020 elections. This package included interventions by Iran to undermine confidence in the process and undermine Trump’s chances of winning re-election, as well as Moscow agents who relied on Trump allies to discredit eventual winner Joe Biden. the election.

However, despite these threats, intelligence officials found “no indication that a foreign actor attempted to interfere with the 2020 US election by changing some technical aspects of the voting process, including the voters list, the vote., The compilation of votes. or communication of results ”.

The report is the most recent official confirmation of the integrity of the election, even as Trump supporters continue to make statements about meddling in the process, by foreign or domestic actors, and refuse to accept Biden’s victory. Several courts and even Trump’s own Justice Department have dismissed claims that there was widespread electoral fraud.

The document clearly states that, Although Trump doubted the legitimacy of the election, intelligence officials believe Russia tried to influence those close to the former president to tip the election in his favor..

The report delves into the task of researching which foreign opponents supported which candidates in the 2020 election, an issue that made headlines last year. Trump, whose 2016 campaign benefited from hacking by Russian intelligence operatives and undercover social media work, took advantage of an August intelligence assessment that China preferred Biden to win the chair, although himself. The document said Russia was working to bolster Trump’s candidacy by discrediting Biden.

However, the report released on Tuesday says that ultimately, China did not intervene in favor of either party and “considered, but did not deploy” influence operations aimed at affecting the result. US officials said they believe Beijing has prioritized a stable relationship with Washington and does not view either of the two election results as advantageous enough to risk the “backlash” that would follow if surprised. interfering.

In the case of Russia, the report notes, Moscow tried to undermine Biden’s candidacy because he believed his presidency would be against the interests of the Kremlin.Although he has taken some steps to prepare for a Democratic government ahead of the election.

The report also states that Putin authorized influence operations designed to disparage Biden, stimulate Trump, undermine confidence in the electoral process, and exacerbate social divisions in the United States..

A central part of this task was the use of representatives linked to the Russian intelligence services to “clean up the narrative” through the media, federal officials and those close to Trump to promote “misleading and unfounded” accusations against Biden. .

Intelligence officials have not designated a specific Trump ally in these efforts. However, his longtime acquaintance Rudy Giuliani has repeatedly met with Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Derkach, who in 2020 released highly edited tapes of Biden in an attempt to link the Democratic candidate to unsubstantiated allegations of corruption. US officials have said they consider Derkach an “active Russian agent,” and Tuesday’s report notes that Putin allegedly had “influence” over his activities.

“Putin had jurisdiction over Andriy Derkach’s activities,” the report said. “Other senior officials have also been involved in Russia’s electoral influence efforts – including senior national security and intelligence officials – who we believe would not act without at least gaining the tacit approval of Putin.

However, it is striking that Russia’s attempts to hack electoral infrastructure have not been as aggressive as in previous election cycles. The report claims that the Kremlin’s cyber operations that targeted local and state government networks last year were likely not targeted at the elections, but were used as large-scale efforts to attack US and global entities. .

The United States could reveal sanctions against Russia as early as next week due to the alleged election interference, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed U.S. officials and adding that Iran would also face sanctions.

As, Iran waged its own campaign of influence in an attempt to undermine Trump’s reelection bid, a job that the federal authorities claim to have the approval of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

One “extremely specific operation” – the subject of a press conference that then-National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Christopher Wray gave in October – involved a series of emails allegedly sent by the far-right group Proud. Boys to Democratic voters in states with no clear political preference and where recipients were threatened if they did not vote for Trump.

Iran’s efforts, which officials say were more aggressive than in previous elections and continued even after the electoral process ended, have focused on contention in the United States., perhaps because Tehran believed it would hurt Trump’s chances of re-election.

Even though Iran has attempted to exploit vulnerabilities in state election websites and, in effect, “endanger US entities linked to electoral infrastructure as part of larger-scale work in different sectors of the country. world, “he made no attempt to manipulate the votes or affect the electoral infrastructure. , concludes the report.

Intelligence officials said they also saw efforts of Cuba, Venezuela and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah influence the elections, even though “in general we believe they were held on a smaller scale than those held by Russia and Iran.”

En el caso del país sudamericano, detail: “El régimen venezolano de Nicolás Maduro mantuvo una relación adversaria con la administración Trump y evaluamos que Maduro tenía la intención, aunque probablye no la capacidad, de intentar influir en la opinión pública de Estados Unidos contra el former president. We have no information to suggest that the current or former Venezuelan regime was involved in attempts to compromise the US electoral infrastructure. “

Regarding the Islamist movement, the analysis indicated that Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of Hezbollah, “supported efforts to undermine” Trump in the election “because” he probably saw it as an inexpensive way to mitigate the risk of a regional conflict as Lebanon faces political, financial and public health problems ”.

The full report:

(With information from AP, Reuters)

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