Lauren Stephenson
Intelligence Report: Putin Ordered Campaign To Influence US Election
The goal was to "undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process" and hurt Hillary Clinton's chance of being president, according to the report.
LEARN MOREPosted: 11:01 p.m. EDT Jun 2, 2017
Russian President Vladimir Putin took his denial of Russian meddling in the 2016 election to a whole other level.
While participating in a panel discussion at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, Putin compared the U.S.' repeated claims that Russians tried to interfere in the presidential election to anti-Semitism.
"It's easier to say, 'It's not our fault. It's the Russians. They intervened. They interfered.' It's like anti-Semitism: the Jews are to blame," Putin said through a translator.
Putin has repeatedly denied the U.S. Intelligence Community assessment that he ordered a "multifaceted" influence campaign to "undermine public faith in the US democratic process" and to "harm [Hillary Clinton's] electability."
Earlier this week, Putin seemingly cracked open the door, saying it's possible "patriotically minded" Russians could — on their own — carry out cyberattacks on the upcoming German elections.
But Friday he said the digital fingerprints, like the ones the U.S. Intelligence Community cited in its assessment as belonging to Russians, can be changed.
"IP addresses — they can be invented, you know? There are very many specialists that can invent or fix it up. You know a kid of yours can send it. Your girl that is 3 years old can perpetrate such an attack," Putin said.
