The Obama-era intelligence community assessment on Russian interference in the 2016 election includes a newly declassified claim that the Kremlin has “historically” favored Republican candidates over Democrats, a claim contradicted by much of the historical record.
Additionally, a key architect of the assessment asserted that Russia’s actions in 2016 were “unprecedented,” a characterization some experts have since questioned.
These two assertions appear to contradict the Kremlin’s long history of aggressive interference in U.S. elections, which has often—though not always—targeted Republicans. In at least one notable case, however, the Kremlin sought to undermine a Democrat known for his strong anti-Soviet stance.
The report titled Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections—commissioned by President Barack Obama and primarily overseen by then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan, and then-FBI Director James Comey—was completed in December 2016. A declassified summary was released in January 2017, while a more detailed classified version was declassified and made public just last week.
The version of the ICA which had been highly classified but which was released this July had a subheading stating that “Putin Ordered Campaign To Influence U.S. Election.” Beneath that subheading, the ICA contended that “the Kremlin has historically preferred Republican over Democratic candidates, judging that Republicans had been less focused on democracy and human rights and were therefore easier to deal with.”
Intelligence experts who have a lot of Russia experience disagree. Dan Hoffman, the CIA’s former station chief in Moscow, told Just the News that “I never found that to be true at CIA. Not true. They hate all of us — Republican and Democrat. … They are at war with us — at war with democracy.”
Hoffman repeatedly argued that the ICA’s claim that Russia has historically favored Republicans over Democrats was unfounded. “During my time at CIA — never saw it, never said it. During all my time briefing policymakers and Congress, it is not something I would have ever said,” Hoffman told Just the News. “I’d like to know where they got that from.”