Vladimir Putin is said to have ordered a complex operation by his country’s intelligence services to help Donald Trump win the 2016 US election. The Russian President approved the same plan at the National Security Council meeting in the Kremlin on January 22, 2016. “Guardian”. According to its own statements, the newspaper was able to see internal documents that seem to prove it. He also published photographs of brief excerpts from newspapers.
a meet That day undeniably happened. In addition to Putin, the most important government representatives attended, including then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shozgu. The then chiefs of the SVR and FSB secret services also attended the meeting. According to the official presentation, it was about the economy and Moldova.
According to the Guardian, however, there was another topic on the agenda: Donald Trump, the most likely Republican presidential candidate at the time. Meeting participants agreed that Trump’s entry into the White House would benefit Moscow’s strategic interests: because of potential “social unrest” in the US and because the US president’s negotiating position with Russia would be weakened.
Putin’s spokesman denies that experts urge caution
The Kremlin vehemently denies this. Asked by the newspaper, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the idea that top representatives of the Russian government decided at a meeting to support Trump is in the territory of “bad fiction”.
However, experts consulted by the Guardian believe the documents to be credible. The material “reflects reality,” said the Russian, for example. Intelligence specialist Andrei Solatov Newspaper. The documents are in line with Secret Services and Security Council procedures. The Kremlin is now managing such operations down to the last detail, says Solatov. “Putin made it clear to his spies by 2015 at the latest that nothing could happen independently of him.”
However, other experts advised caution. Christopher Krebs, the former head of the US Cyber Security Agency, tweeted, the documents may be wrong. The whole thing is simply “very appropriate”.
Too Thomas Rideau, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University and an expert in intelligence and propaganda, was skeptical. He wrote on Twitter, ‘The Guardian’ report should be taken very carefully. Reasons for this include the timing, the newspaper’s extremely cautious terminology, and the fact that the report does not quote a British government representative, not even an anonymous one.
Rid said that should further evidence become public, a reassessment may be appropriate. However, for now experts recommend caution.
According to the newspaper, a decree called by the Guardian said he was able to see “Putin’s signature”. It would direct three Russian intelligence agencies to find ways to support Trump.
There is talk of “certain incidents” that may have happened during Trump’s visits to Moscow in the past
A report classified as confidential with file number “No. 32-04vd” also included a brief psychological profile of Trump and a strategic assessment of the benefits of the Trump presidency for Moscow. The Republican candidate at the time is the most promising candidate from the Kremlin’s point of view, it says. According to an internal assessment, Trump is also an “impulsive, mentally unstable, and unbalanced inferiority complex”.
The report also explicitly confirmed that Russian services contained potentially substandard material, a so-called “compromise” about Trump. The newspaper quoted from the document that it was collected during earlier “informal visits” by the future US President of Russia. Accordingly, there is talk of “certain incidents” that may have happened during Trump’s visits to Moscow in the past. For details, a contract is referenced which the newspaper could not clearly see.
At this point, propaganda expert Rid was particularly skeptical. This “weird reference” to “compromat” is a reason for special caution.
According to the Guardian, after the National Security Council meeting, Putin apparently ordered the formation of a secret cross-departmental commission to implement the plan. In addition to the chairman, Defense Minister Shojagu, it should also include the then SVR boss and the boss of the FSB.
If the documents were genuine, they would offer a rare glimpse into the Kremlin’s decision-making processes. You would also contradict the representation of the Kremlin, a Interference In the past the democratic processes of Western states had repeatedly denied.
After Trump was elected US President, US intelligence agencies published a report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, in which they concluded that Putin ordered a “US presidential campaign” in 2016. The campaign was intended to undermine American citizens’ confidence in the democratic process, harm Hillary Clinton, and help Donald Trump.
Too Special Counsel Robert Mueller It proved that Russia had campaigned extensively for Trump. However, he was unable to prove a targeted “collaboration” or “conspiracy” between Russia and the Trump camp.
