U.S. Intelligence officials confirmed what most already suspected following last week’s CIA report, which revealed that Russia hacked the 2016 Presidential Election in Donald Trump’s favor.
According to NBC News, senior intelligence officials involved with the investigation found that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally headed up a covert operation designed to interfere with the 2016 U.S. election.
In the findings, the intelligence officials concluded Putin personally directed hacking activities targeting Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign in hopes of painting Clinton and the party as corrupt.
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Putin’s ultimate goal, according to the findings, was reportedly to damage U.S. credibility as a global leader with other countries and ensure Trump’s election victory.
“[Putin] has had a vendetta against Hillary Clinton, that has been known for a long time because of what she said about his elections back in the parliamentary elections of 2011,” former U.S. Ambassador for Russia Michael McFaul said.
“He wants to discredit American democracy and make us weaker in terms of leading the liberal democratic order. And most certainly he likes President-elect Trump’s views on Russia.”
The White House has not yet commented on these findings.