“Russia and Iran tried to influence the 2020 presidential election”

The Russian government tried to disperse in the presidential period of the US presidential election 2020 “Misleading or baseless allegations” against then-candidate Joe Biden through allies of former President Donald Trump and his government, according to U.S. intelligence officials.

This assessment is described in a 15-page report on election interference published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It says Trump allies have fallen into Moscow’s trap by stepping up allegations against Biden by Ukrainian-linked figures in the run-up to the November 3 election.

Biden defeated Trump and took over the US presidency on January 20.

US intelligence has identified other attempts to influence voters, including a “multifaceted secret campaign of influence” from Iran aimed at reducing support for Trump. The report also alleges that China interfered in the election in support of Biden, concluding that the former president’s allies had intervened. Beijing “did not make efforts to interfere in the elections”

“China has sought stability in its relations with the United States and has not considered any election results beneficial enough for China to risk negative reactions if it is exposed,” the report said.

U.S. officials said they also recorded attempts by Cuba, Venezuela and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to influence elections, although “in general, we estimate that these were on a smaller scale than those conducted by Russia and Iran.”

U.S. intelligence and former investigator Robert Mahler have concluded that Russia also got involved in the 2016 US presidential election to support Trump’s candidacy with a propaganda campaign aimed at hitting his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

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