The White House website has published a trove of declassified documents on foreign interference in U.S. elections. Among them are intelligence reports from 2020 that conclude Russia attempted to discredit Democrat Joe Biden and help Republican Donald Trump win the presidential election.
One memorandum from the U.S. National Intelligence Council, dated Aug. 19, 2020 — more than two months before the election itself — says Russia, Iran, and China had the ability to interfere with voting, steal confidential information, and conduct information campaigns aimed at undermining the legitimacy of election results.
“Russia is using a range of measures primarily to denigrate former Vice President Biden and what it sees as an anti-Russia establishment,” the memorandum reads. “For example, it is directing or encouraging proxies to spread claims about Vice President Biden. Some Kremlin-linked actors are also seeking to boost President Trump's candidacy on social media. More broadly, Moscow's efforts seek to amplify social discord in the U.S. and undermine Washington's global standing.”
According to the intelligence assessment, the effort to discredit Biden was overseen by senior Russian officials including Vladimir Putin himself:
