A new report released in the United States has blamed Russia for influencing the 2020 presidential election, won by now-President Joe Biden.
The report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) failed to provide any evidence for the allegations.
Moscow has repeatedly dismissed allegations of election meddling, also put forth in the wake of the 2016 presidential election.
One glaring omission in Intelligence Community's assessment of Russian meddling in 2020 election is fact that Trump himself repeatedly peddled anti-Biden materials created by Russian intelligence operatives including at Sept 29 presidential debate and via his Twitter account 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Nzgvx4uHYL
— Andrew S. Weiss (@andrewsweiss) March 16, 2021
The new report alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin “authorized, and a range of Russian government organizations conducted,” operation for that purpose.
Yet, the ODNI asserted that, “We have no indications that any foreign actor attempted to alter any technical aspect of the voting process in the 2020 US elections, including voter registration, casting ballots, vote tabulation, or reporting results.”
There was no Russian access to election infrastructure but Russians undermined public confidence in the electoral process, the report further claimed.
“A key element of Moscow’s strategy this election cycle was its use of proxies linked to Russian intelligence to push influence narratives — including misleading or unsubstantiated allegations against President Biden – to US media organizations, US officials, and prominent US individuals, including some close to former President Trump and his administration,” the report states.
A classified version of the report had reportedly been presented on Jan. 7 to then-President Donald Trump.
Gripped by sociopolitical divisions, the United States keeps pointing the finger at its nemeses over interference in elections.
Since officially losing the presidential race, Trump and his supporters have been complaining about cheating in the election, which they consider as “stolen.”