Putin plan to swing polls to Don
Russian think tank planned to undermine faith in US electoral system I don’t know anything about this. I can only say that seven anonymous sources are not worth one real one. Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman
A Russian government think tank controlled by Vladimir Putin developed a plan to swing the 2016 US presidential election to Donald Trump and undermine voters’ faith in the American electoral system, three current and four former US officials told Reuters.
They described two confidential documents from the think tank as providing the framework and rationale for what US intelligence agencies have concluded was an intensive effort by Russia to interfere with the November 8 election.
US intelligence officials acquired the documents, which were prepared by the Moscow-based Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, after the election.
The institute is run by retired senior Russian foreign intelligence officials appointed by Mr Putin’s office.
The first Russian institute document was a strategy paper written last June that circulated at the highest levels of the Russian government but
was not addressed to any specific individuals.
It recommended the Kremlin launch a propaganda campaign on social media and Russian statebacked global news outlets to encourage US voters to elect a President who would take a softer line toward Russia than the administration of thenPresident Barack Obama, the seven officials said.
A second institute document, drafted in October and distributed in the same way, warned that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was likely to win the election.
For that reason, it argued, it was better for Russia to end its proTrump propaganda and instead intensify its messaging about voter fraud to undermine the US electoral system’s legitimacy and damage Ms Clinton’s reputation in an effort to undermine her presidency, the seven officials said.
The current and former US officials spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the Russian documents’ classified status. They declined to discuss how the United States obtained them. US intelligence agencies also declined to comment on them. Mr Putin has denied interfering in the US election. “Putin had the objective in mind all along, and he asked the institute to draw him a road map,” said one of the sources, a former senior US intelligence official.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said people should not pay attention to reports based on anonymous sources.
“I don’t know anything about this, I can only say that seven anonymous sources are not worth one real one.”