The Guardian has published leaked documents from Russia that reportedly confirm Vladimir Putin authorized an operation to support the presidential campaign of Donald Trump in 2016 through a “multi-agency effort.”
A meeting between the Russian president, his spy chiefs, and senior ministers was held on Jan. 22, 2016, during which all parties agreed that a Trump White House would be beneficial to the interests of Moscow.
“It is acutely necessary to use all possible force to facilitate his [Trump’s] election to the post of US president,” the paper says.
It also says that a Trump win “will definitely lead to the destabilization of the US’s sociopolitical system.”
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Additionally, the documents cite numerous American weaknesses, which include a “deepening political gulf between left and right” of the political spectrum, the US’s “media-information” space, and a rising anti-establishment mood under former President Barack Obama.
The documents also suggest that the Kremlin has compromising material about Trump, and that the former host of The Apprentice suffers from “an inferiority complex” and is “impulsive, mentally unstable and unbalanced.”
The authenticity of the documents was verified by independent experts cited in the Guardian’s report.
A spokesperson for the Kremlin responded by calling the claims “pulp fiction.”
[Via]