CIA found Putin ‘probably directing’ campaign against Biden: report

American intelligence agencies believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is behind a disinformation campaign targeting Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, according to a new report.

A top-secret CIA assessment concluded Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach engaged in peddling “disparaging information about Biden inside the United States through lobbyists, Congress, the media and contacts with figures close to the president,” two sources with knowledge of the report told The Washington Post.

“We assess that President Vladimir Putin and the senior most Russian officials are aware of and probably directing Russia’s influence operations aimed at denigrating the former U.S. Vice President, supporting the U.S. president and fueling public discord ahead of the U.S. election in November,” the first line of the document reportedly reads. 

Derkach has close ties to Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney, the report said. 

Derkach has been identified as a Russian agent by the director of national intelligence and the Treasury Department but has denied working on behalf of Moscow.  

A recent report from the Senate Intelligence Committee found Russian agents meddled in the 2016 presidential election using social media and other methods to mislead voters about then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign and bolster Trump.

The intelligence assessment comes as Republicans in the Senate are slated to release a report on a controversial investigation into Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s dealings in Ukraine. 

Democrats have expressed worries that the report will include similar accusations to those made by Derkach, though Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who spearheaded the report, has said he has not had any contact with Derkach.