Thread by @GeorgeCroner

To be clear, this ODNI report is a declassified version of the classified report, which remains classified. It differs from the 2017 IC Analysis, which focused exclusively on Russian activities and intentions regarding the 2016 election, by evaluating the conduct of other /1

https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1371897894974935044

foreign actors directed at the 2020 election. The Report uses the same estimative language as the 2017 version but, unlike 2017 version, does not identify the views of individuals agencies within the IC.
Key takeaways: (1) there is no indication that any foreign actor /2

attempted to alter any technical aspect of the 2020 voting process. The Report notes that"unlike 2016, we did not see persistent Russian efforts to gain access to election infrastructure." (2) But, Putin did authorize, and Russian actors conducted, influence ops aimed at /3

denigrating the Biden candidacy, supporting Trump, and undermining public confidence inthe electoral process. The IC has "high confidence" (the highest expression of analytic judgment) in this assessment. A key element of this effort was Russian use of proxies, like Andriy /4

Derkach, a Ukrainian politician who met w/ Giuliani, spread false rumors about Biden,and was ultimately blacklisted by the U.S. govt. The "primary effort" at smearing the Biden candidacy involved influence actions undertaken by Ukrainian proxies, like Derkach, designed to /5

give Moscow plausible deniability, and directed at U.S. media that spread"unsubstantiated and misleading claims about Pres. Biden and his family's alleged wrongdoings related to Ukraine." These activities also involved Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian intelligence operative who /6

is a favorite character in the Mueller and SSCI Reports on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Russian online actors continued to promote narratives questioning the election results and disparaging Biden after the election had concluded. (3) The Report states /7

with "high confidence" the assessment that China "did not deploy interference efforts intended to change the outcome of the US presidential election." (Contemporaneous reporting documents Trump loudly accusing China of such interference.) (4) Iran conducted an influence /8

principally directed at undercutting Trump's reelection prospects.
Summing up: (a) most importantly, there is no analytic support for any foreign actor having technically interfered in the 2020 voting process; (b) there is "high confidence" in the assessment that Russia /9

sought to support Trump and undermine his opponent, largely through proxies spreading "unsubstantiated or misleading" claims about Biden and his family's wrongdoings in Ukraine; (c) there is "high confidence" in the assessment that China essentially sat out any attempt to /10

interfere in the 2020 election - despite the claims of Trump and his toady DNI Ratcliffe to the contrary; and (d) other actors, like Iran, engaged in election influence efforts to a greater extent than in 2016. /END

Full report here: dni.gov/files/ODNI/doc….