The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Washington Post: Putin Probably Directs Russian Interference, CIA Says

2020-09-22T22:47:00.554Z


The Washington Post reported on a CIA assessment that Putin is likely leading efforts to interfere in the US.


FBI: Russia seeks to "denigrate" Joe Biden 0:38

(CNN) -

The CIA assessed in August that President Vladimir Putin and his top advisers "are aware of and likely direct Russia's influence operations" aimed at undermining Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 elections, according to a new report in

The Washington Post.

“We assess that President Vladimir Putin and most senior Russian officials are aware of and likely directing Russia's influence operations aimed at denigrating the former US Vice President, supporting the US President and fueling public discord before the US elections in November, "reads the first line of the assessment, the Post reported.

The Washington Post

publication details

The CIA compiled its Aug. 31 assessment with input from the National Security Agency and the FBI using unclassified and classified public intelligence sources,

The Washington Post

reported

, citing two sources who reviewed the document.

The CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) declined to comment.

CNN has also reached out to the National Security Agency and the FBI.

The agencies declined to comment to the Post.

Former CIA agent Douglas London told CNN that the agency's use of the word "probably" when it comes to an issue of such importance means that its "analysts have enough confidence based on their deep experience to risk it. his reputation in making such a claim.

"It means that the information is good enough that they are not guessing, but they have enough pieces of the puzzle to confidently distinguish the image," London said.

While US Intelligence has publicly accused Russia of actively interfering in the 2020 elections, seeking to denigrate Biden's candidacy for the White House, the agencies did not provide any assessment of Putin's possible involvement as

The Washington Post

now

mentions.

.

“We assess that Russia is using a series of measures to denigrate mainly former Vice President Biden and what he sees as an anti-Russia 'establishment'.

This is consistent with Moscow's public criticism of him when he was vice president for his role in the Obama administration's policies on Ukraine and his support for the anti-Putin opposition within Russia, "said William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence Center. and Security, in a statement in August.

'Moscow will apply lessons learned from its Putin-ordered campaign'

Informant denounces Russian interference in US election 2:15

The United States accused Putin in 2017 of directing all efforts to meddle in the 2016 presidential election.

"We assess that Moscow will apply the lessons learned from its Putin-ordered campaign directed at the US presidential elections to influence future efforts around the world, including against US allies and their electoral processes," US Intelligence said in a statement after the 2016 elections.

In her August statement, Evanina also accused the pro-Russian Ukrainian MP Andrii Derkach of "spreading claims about corruption" to undermine Biden's candidacy.

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told CNN's John King on "Newsroom" on Tuesday that the report serves as "confirmation" of what both Evanina and FBI Director Christopher Wray have said about Russia's efforts to meddle in elections.

“So this is just an assertion, a confirmation of what has already been said by both FBI Director Wray and Bill Evanina, director of the National Center for Counterintelligence and Security, who is kind of a nominal spokesperson on electoral interference on behalf of the Director of National Intelligence, ”said Clapper, who served in the Obama administration.

Clapper, a CNN contributor, added that the report is "significant but not surprising."

He added: 'Considering Putin's background - a trained career KGB officer - he has a very astute and sophisticated understanding of the tools he can use to interfere with our electoral process and sow discord and mistrust, what he is doing. fairly good".

Derkach labeled 'active Russian agent'

The Washington Post

reported that the CIA assessment details Derkach's efforts to spread and push anti-Biden information.

This would be done through lobbyists, Congress and the media.

Although the document refers to Derkach's interaction with a "prominent" person linked to President Donald Trump's campaign, it does not identify that person, according to

The Washington Post

.

Derkach has close ties to Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who is not mentioned in the CIA assessment, according to the Post.

For the past year, Derkach has worked closely with Giuliani.

Also using right-wing outlets, such as One America News Network, to sell anti-Biden material, according to previous CNN reports and public statements by Derkach.

The US Treasury Department sanctioned Derkach for those efforts and labeled him an "active Russian agent."

"Derkach and other Russian agents use manipulation and deception to try to influence elections in the United States and in other parts of the world," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement earlier this month.

The relationship with Giuliani

Giuliani has acknowledged that he received documents from Derkach about Biden.

When asked earlier this month about the sanctions against Derkach, Giuliani responded to CNN via text message "Who cares."

  • LEE: Who is Rudy Giuliani?

    15 Facts You Should Know About Donald Trump's Personal Lawyer

"I never included any of his information in my report to the state, and I met (with Derkach) long after my investigation was finished," Giuliani told CNN last month.

He was referring to a controversial package of documents he turned over to the US State Department last year as part of its efforts to uncover negative information about Biden.

Derkach recently rejected the notion that he is a Russian agent.

He called the US government accusations "absurd" and illogical during a press conference in Ukraine that quickly turned into a pointless spectacle.

Intelligence response

The US intelligence community declined to comment on Derkach's specific activities after he spoke.

But an ODNI official reiterated the agency's August public assessment that the Ukrainian lawmaker "is spreading claims about corruption - including through the publication of leaked phone calls - to undermine the candidacy of former Vice President Biden and the Democratic Party." .

  • LOOK: Trump jokes about Russia's interference in the 2020 elections

"We support our previous public statement on Mr. Derkach and we note the appointment of Derkach by the Treasury Department on September 10 for his efforts to influence the 2020 elections," the official told CNN recently.

Derkach has published and promoted alleged audiotapes of a 2016 conversation between Biden and then-Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko.

Last month, Trump retweeted a post that contained snippets of the audio and accused Biden of wrongdoing, although there is no evidence of wrongdoing on the tapes.

Biden Campaign Reacts to CIA Assessment Published by

The Washington Post

A spokesman for Biden's campaign said Tuesday that the CIA assessment makes it clear who Putin wants to win the election.

He argued that "Donald Trump's foreign policy has been a gift to the Kremlin."

"And it is tragic that certain members of Congress are so overwhelmed by the most corrosive form of partisanship imaginable that they have chosen to be complicit in foreign influence operations against America's very sovereignty," Biden's campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in a declaration.

CNN's Devan Cole, Alex Marquardt, Sarah Mucha, Jeremy Herb, Mike Warren, and Kylie Atwood contributed to this report.

Donald Trump 2020 United States election Joe Biden Russia Vladimir Putin

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2020-09-22

You may like

News/Politics 2024-02-01T12:11:16.006Z

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-27T16:45:54.081Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.