>> We were seeing a campaign on
the part of the Russians.
It was a much more aggressive,
a much more intense, and much
more worrisome effort.
>> NARRATOR: Behind closed
doors...
>> A number of us felt very
strongly that we had to tell the
American public what we knew.
>> Three people with ties to
President Trump are now facing
charges...
>> Amid new revelations about
Russia and the election.
>> Twelve charges including
conspiracy against the
United States.
NARRATOR: The conclusion
of "Putin's Revenge".
>> NARRATOR: The cyber attack
began with an email.
>> "Hi John.
Someone just used your password
to try to sign in to your
Google Account."
>> John Podesta, in his role as
chairman of Hillary Clinton's
campaign, gets a lot of email.
So he has other people who are,
you know, checking out his email
as it comes in.
>> "Google stopped this sign-in
attempt.
You should change your password
immediately."
>> NARRATOR: But this was not
from Google.
It had been sent by Russian
hackers-- a computer phishing
attack.
>> Spear phishes are a term of
art in the cyber world for
emails that are meant to look
legitimate.
"Someone's tried to use your
password to get into your
account.
Please click on this link and
change your password
immediately."
>> A number of people had access
to my email account, one of whom
checked with one of our security
people about whether it was a
phishing email, was told no, it
was real.
>> This is a legitimate email.
John needs to change his
password immediately.
>> And he meant to type
"illegitimate," or so he says to
us.
So, but for a two-letter typo,
the chairman of the Clinton
campaign's emails may not have
been spread to the world.
>> At the time, I was not aware
that I had been hacked.
>> NARRATOR: 60,000 emails from
Podesta's account were a
political goldmine, part of a
campaign aimed at disrupting the
presidential election that the
American government linked to
Vladimir Putin.
>> If it were possible to create
doubts and to create chaos with
the political system of a major
Western democratic country, like
the U.S., I think that will
certainly serve the propaganda
goals of Vladimir Putin's
regime.
>> NARRATOR: It would be
Vladimir Putin's revenge for a
lifetime of grievances.
>> Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this
wall.
>> NARRATOR: Reviving the old
Cold War with new weapons.
>> We have the responsibility to
advance freedom and democracy.
>> NARRATOR: An epic struggle...
>> Everywhere that freedom
stirs, let tyrants fear.
>> NARRATOR: ...between the
leader of Russia and American
democracy.
>> The United States will
continue to stand up for
democracy and the universal
rights that all human beings
deserve.
(man speaking Russian)
>> We'll give you a live look
now at Sochi, today's opening
ceremony takes place in...
>> It cost Russia close to 50
billion euros.
>> NARRATOR: In the winter of
2014, Russian President Vladimir
Putin put on a show.
(man speaking Russian)
>> For Putin, hosting the
Olympics is the crescendo of his
campaign to revive Russian
greatness.
>> It was the kind of pageantry
which Putin and Russians in
general loved.
He was riding very high.
This was, you know, a moment of
personal and national triumph
from his point of view.
(cheers and applause)
>> NARRATOR: The games were an
announcement that the world
needed to pay attention to
Russia and Vladimir Putin.
(Putin speaking Russian)
(cheers and applause)
>> Sochi was a huge moment for
Vladimir Putin, and it was meant
to be his validation and
crowning moment of acceptance on
the world stage as, you know,
sort of the new Russian tsar.
(cheers and applause)
>> NARRATOR: But Putin's moment
of glory was tarnished by
troubles just over Russia's
border: in Ukraine.
>> Ukraine is stuck very much in
the middle both
geographically...
>>> ...with the protests in
neighboring Ukraine, what is
Russian President...
>> NARRATOR: To Putin, the
crowds were a repudiation.
The protesters demanded their
government move away from Russia
and toward the West.
Coming in the midst of his
Olympics, Putin saw something
else.
>> Putin was sure that that was
a real conspiracy to rain on his
parade.
That his enemies wanted to steal
his, his Olympics.
>> NARRATOR: As the crowds grew,
Putin suspected the involvement
of Russia's longtime adversary,
the United States.
>> Putin himself believes that
it was the United States.
You know, he honestly doesn't
believe that people can get out
on the streets just because they
don't like people in power.
>> NARRATOR: It was a view
widely held in Putin's circle.
>> Mr. Obama and others, they
decided that America can do
whatever they like, to spread
"democracy," they call it.
How many diplomats from the
United States were at that time
in Kiev?
How many?
>> NARRATOR: American diplomats
were in the midst of the
protesters, in Kiev's main
square-- the Maidan.
Assistant Secretary of State
Victoria Nuland was one of
them.
>> Ukrainians hit the street all
over the country, including in
Kiev.
And that's how Maidan starts,
because they want Europe and
they don't want further
dependency on Russia.
>> So you have Toria Nuland
going out and handing out
sandwiches on the Maidan-- a
gesture of, "We're with you in
your fight for democracy," which
is not different from the
American stance traditionally
all over the world.
>> NARRATOR: To Putin, Nuland's
presence was proof the Americans
were pulling the strings.
>> Putin is very, very good at
weaving a narrative that suits
his larger political purpose.
It was very useful for him to
make me and us the poster child
for interference in another
country's affairs.
>> NARRATOR: His belief that
Americans were interfering in
Russia's sphere of influence was
not new.
He had spent a lifetime wary of
the United States.
As a young KGB officer, he was
trained to spot American
conspiracies.
>> Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this
wall!
>> NARRATOR: Posted to Dresden,
East Germany, he watched
firsthand the crumbling of the
Soviet empire.
>> ...will be a year remembered
for Communism's loss of
influence in the world...
>> The quote that he said once
that really was so revealing,
that the collapse of the Soviet
Union was the greatest
geopolitical catastrophe of the
century.
That's how he saw it.
>> Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.
>> NARRATOR: First as prime
minister and then as president,
he came to see America as a
growing threat.
>> Vladimir Putin concluded that
the United States, when
possible, would use its power
and leverage to depose leaders
that it did not agree with.
>> The former dictator of
Iraq...
>> NARRATOR: Putin had watched
American "regime change"
overthrow Saddam Hussein, and he
believed they had engineered
revolutions in former Soviet
republics.
>> The American people will
stand with you.
>> Protesters have taken...
>> NARRATOR: In the Arab Spring,
he watched his ally Libyan
dictator Muammar Gaddafi dragged
through the streets.
>> Putin watches that tape over
and over and over again.
It's all he can talk about for
quite some time.
>> NARRATOR: Playing a role in
Gaddafi's downfall: the American
secretary of state, Hillary
Clinton.
>> Gaddafi must go and the
Libyan people deserve to
determine their own future.
>> NARRATOR: And in Russia as
massive protests broke out just
outside the Kremlin walls, Putin
believed America had crossed the
line.
And he blamed Hillary Clinton.
>> You know, the Russian people
deserve the right to have their
voices heard and their votes
counted.
>> Putin said it was Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton who
provided funds and means to
the Russian opposition and made
them to get out of the, on the
streets.
>> No question he's looking at
revenge at Hillary Clinton.
There's no question that he sees
Hillary Clinton as an adversary.
And he wanted to, like, you
know, he wanted to get her back.
>> NARRATOR: Putin would wait
for the right moment to strike
back at Clinton and the United
States.
>> ...the Winter Olympics in
Sochi and with the protests in
neighboring Ukraine.
>> NARRATOR: Two years later, he
would test a new strategy during
those protests in Ukraine that
had overshadowed his Olympics.
>> ...had spiraled into deeper
violence.
>> NARRATOR: The first target:
Assistant Secretary of State
Victoria Nuland.
>> What do you think?
>> I think we're in play...
>> NARRATOR: It began with an
intercept of a phone call.
>> Good.
>> NARRATOR: As Nuland discussed
the future of Ukraine, she
uttered a profanity about the
European Union.
>> Ah, the famous barnyard
epithet, yeah.
>> "(Bleep) the E.U."
(speaking German)
>> The fallout from a top
American diplomat's very
undemocratic expletive hurled at
the European Union...
>> NARRATOR: The leak was
designed to reveal America's
role in Ukraine and sow division
between Nuland and the E.U.
(woman speaking Russian)
>> Clearly they were looking to
discredit me personally as the
main negotiator at that time to
thereby reduce U.S. influence.
>> Not a word you would use
typically to talk about an ally.
>> Well, this is a major
embarrassment.
Look, this is the top U.S.
diplomat for Europe.
>> NARRATOR: Intercepting
diplomatic communications was
nothing new.
>> Russians are at the very
least denying they posted the
call.
>> NARRATOR: But leaking them
online was.
>> ...now tweets, "I was just
monitoring the internets."
>> But it wasn't a five-alarm
fire.
And in retrospect, some people
think we should have taken this
a lot more seriously than we
did.
Because it was the first
demonstration that Russia was
willing and able to use
techniques against the United
States that it had previously
not dared to attempt.
>> The recording of the phone
call leaked on social media.
>> Of course they're listening
to everything.
But usually they're just
collecting it for themselves.
This is the first time they have
gone out and weaponized that
information against the U.S.
>> NARRATOR: The leak was only
the beginning.
Another tactic: in the Ukrainian
territory of Crimea, Putin used
disinformation-- outright lies--
as a weapon.
>> They moved in with what the
Ukrainians called "Little Green
Men."
And they were clearly, by the
way they handled themselves and
their weapons, professional
military.
Wearing Russian-style combat
uniforms, but no insignia.
>> ...forces in the thousands
seizing territory.
>> NARRATOR: Putin knew an
invasion of Ukraine would be a
clear violation of international
law, and inevitably provoke an
American response.
So the troops were disguised and
he denied they were his.
>> I think it was a tactically
impressive move that he was able
to basically invade a huge chunk
of a neighboring country.
>> A tug-of-war in Ukraine,
where more soldiers
reportedly...
>> ...and do it in a way that
made it difficult to figure out
exactly what was going on until
it was too late.
>> NARRATOR: Russia seized
Crimea without firing a shot.
Putin had successfully used
disinformation and weaponized
leaks.
He was also testing something
else: Russia's cyber
capabilities.
>> There is a cheap way to
intimidate other countries.
What Putin has are armies of
people at laptops harassing,
intimidating, and even
manipulating the information and
news that we read.
>> Ukraine, more than any other
country, is the petri dish in
which the Russians conduct their
experiments in cyber
operations-- where they work on
manipulating elections.
Where at Christmastime of 2015,
turning off the power to a
quarter of a million people.
The Russians figured out just
how far they could go without
provoking a reaction from us.
>> NARRATOR: As the cyber
attacks and disinformation
ramped up, Russia began
operating on a new front in
eastern Ukraine.
>> The new front line of eastern
Ukraine's war, heavy fighting...
>> The use of paramilitary
forces, the use of cyber
warfare, the use of conventional
military, all of that-- and
disinformation-- amounted to an
entirely new form of warfare,
what became known as hybrid war.
>> ...intense fighting in
eastern Ukraine...
>> NARRATOR: In Washington, the
American government was
struggling to devise a response
to Putin's actions.
>> How do you deter behavior
when the other side is basically
denying that it's even taking
place?
When the other side is saying,
"I don't even know what you're
talking about.
We're not involved."
>> President Obama says he's
deeply concerned about that...
>> NARRATOR: In several phone
calls, President Barack Obama
confronted Putin about the
little green men.
Tony Blinken was in the Oval
Office for those calls.
>> Putin denied their presence.
And it was striking, and
flat-out lying about Russia's
presence in Ukraine.
And Obama would say to him,
"Vladimir, we're not blind.
We have eyes.
We can see."
And Putin would just move on, as
if nothing had happened.
>> NARRATOR: At the Pentagon,
some believed Putin only
understood one thing: military
force.
>> The most important thing that
we could do was to deter Russia.
And the best way to do that, we
thought in my office, was to
make the Russians afraid that
they would have to pay a higher
price for their military
intervention.
The higher price would be a
price in Russian lives, that if
we had anti-tank weapons, the
Russian tanks coming at the
Ukrainians would get hit and
Russian soldiers would die.
>> NARRATOR: The C.I.A. director
agreed that tough action was
needed.
>> I remember being on the
schoolyards of New Jersey when
I grew up, and, you know,
bullies try to intimidate.
And they keep moving forward
unless they get their-- their
nose bloodied a little bit.
And I felt as though Mr. Putin
really needed to get his nose
bloodied.
And I think it would have caused
him to back off, because like
most bullies, he knows that he
can't stand up to others.
It's a lot of bluster.
>> NARRATOR: But the president
was reluctant to be drawn into
a conflict with Russia.
He would not approve providing
weapons to the Ukrainians.
>> Obama responds to Ukraine by
imposing sanctions.
And they begin to penalize
Russian businesses and Russian
individuals that they blame for
being part of this.
>> NARRATOR: Some who had dealt
with Putin worried sanctions
would not stop him.
>> I think that Putin
successfully calculated that the
hammer would not come down on
him in a critically painful way
if he did things deniably,
stealthily, if he probed and if
he sort of boiled the frog
hotter and hotter and hotter
rather than attacking directly.
And he was right.
>> NARRATOR: Soon Putin would go
further and directly take on the
United States.
>> It's a revenge and it's an
equalizer.
It was retribution.
It's, "You interfere in our
politics, we're going to show
that American democracy is not
so solid, that American
exceptionalism is not so
pristine, and that you too can
be vulnerable to interference
and chaos and embarrassment in
your political processes."
>> NARRATOR: The chance to
strike at American democracy
came just a few months later.
>> It's the season of
politicians making big
announcements, and today we got
one.
>> NARRATOR: As the country
prepared for the 2016
presidential election...
>> We are going to start winning
big-league.
>> NARRATOR: ...the insurgent
candidate, Donald Trump, was
dominating the headlines and
generating attention.
>> ...and we will make America
great again.
>> When Vladimir Putin looked
over at the U.S. presidential
election, he saw one candidate
who was voicing positions that
were very consistent with what
Russia would have wanted in the
world.
>> I think I'd get along very
well with Vladimir Putin.
I just think so.
>> NARRATOR: For years, Trump
had been outspoken in his praise
for Putin.
>> In Russia, I was in Moscow
recently, and I spoke with
President Putin, who could not
have been nicer.
He's running his country and at
least he's a leader, you know,
unlike what we have in this
country.
>> He was personally invested in
the idea of Putin as a friend.
He said, "Maybe he'll be my BFF.
Maybe, you know"-- and praising
him to the point where he would
even defend Putin against
anybody who said any negative
things about him.
>> I think in terms of
leadership, he's getting an A
and our president is not doing
so well.
>> NARRATOR: It appeared that
Donald Trump was the kind of
candidate Vladimir Putin could
like.
>> President Putin's view of
Trump was a penchant for
authoritarianism, of backing off
of human rights, and talking
about wanting to have a more
positive relationship with
Russia. 
What's not to like if you're
Vladimir Putin?
It sort of sounds like he's one
of us.
>> We will build a great wall.
>> NARRATOR: As Trump closed in
on the nomination, he assembled
a team with connections to
Moscow.
>> If you were Putin, you see
Trump hiring and reaching out to
a series of political advisers
who have similar sympathies
and/or links to Russia.
You see the campaign manager,
Paul Manafort, who worked for
pro-Russia Ukrainian parties.
And then this relatively
obscure national security
adviser named Carter Page, who
is much more amenable to Moscow
than some of the hawks.
You add into that Michael Flynn,
the national security adviser,
who Putin had dinner with in
Moscow.
Just all of those links, from
Moscow's perspective, they had
to be thinking, "Wow, this is
someone, at the very least, we
can do business with."
>> NARRATOR: Vladimir Putin had
another, special reason to be
interested in the election.
>> Hillary Clinton is trying to
lock down the Democratic
nomination.
>> NARRATOR: Hillary Clinton.
>> We've had some very tough
dealings with one another.
And I know that he's someone
that you have to continually
stand up to, because like many
bullies, he is somebody who will
take as much as he possibly can,
unless you do.
>> Hillary Clinton and Donald
Trump are tightening...
>> NARRATOR: He believed Clinton
had crossed the line and
interfered in Russian politics
during those anti-Putin
protests, and now, a chance to
strike back.
>> All the time, there is this
probing that's going on, poking
around in sensitive systems.
>> NARRATOR: Russian hackers had
already breached American
government computer networks.
>> The State Department had been
penetrated.
The White House had been
penetrated.
The Pentagon had been
penetrated.
>> NARRATOR: Now a new target:
the computer network inside the
Democratic National Committee.
>> They were almost the perfect
target.
They didn't have the full
protections of a government
agency, but they had much more
valuable information than an
ordinary private organization.
>> NARRATOR: The attack inside
the DNC network wasn't secret
for long.
>> The first intrusion into the
DNC, these were initially
detected by the NSA, who shares
the information with the FBI.
And those intrusions, first
intrusions, in 2015 were by the
group known as A.P.T.-29 or Cozy
Bear.
>> NARRATOR: A.P.T.-29 was
already known to American
investigators: "Cozy Bear" were
Russian hackers.
>> There was a pattern in terms
of the tools used, in terms of
the nature of the probing that
they saw, that led to-- that
pointed back to Russia pretty
early on.
>> NARRATOR: But inside FBI
headquarters, the reaction was
surprisingly low-key.
A special agent simply called
the I.T. department at the DNC.
>> You had nine months during
which an FBI special agent was
trying to communicate with a
young I.T. professional at the
Democratic National Committee
who didn't even believe that the
guy on the other end of the
phone was an FBI special agent.
>> The help desk didn't know
what to make of it.
They didn't know if it was
authentic.
They didn't know if this person
was who he said he was.
And frankly, they were utterly
ill-equipped to deal with it.
>> At no point did anybody from
the FBI walk out of their
building, up the street to DNC
headquarters.
I did that once as we were
writing a reconstruction of this
hack.
It's about a 12-minute walk if
you stop at Starbucks to pick
something up along the way.
They never bothered.
>> NARRATOR: Russian hackers had
wide-ranging access to DNC
servers.
>> And they didn't respond
aggressively.
And so for months, the hackers
were inside the DNC, working
away, burrowing in, collecting
information, and transporting it
overseas.
>> NARRATOR: They waited for
just the right moment.
>> The Democratic National
Convention is getting ready to
kick off.
>> NARRATOR: And in the summer
of 2016, as the Democrats
gathered to unify the party
around Hillary Clinton...
>> Some disarray this morning
just a day away...
>> NARRATOR: ...those DNC emails
had been passed to the website
Wikileaks. 
Now they were released and would
sow chaos among the delegates.
>> A trove of emails hacked from
the Democratic National
Committee...
>> They wait until two days
before the Democratic convention
begins and then lay out emails
that was documentary proof that
sows some chaos into the
Democrats just as they're
getting ready to meet.
>> NARRATOR: The emails
suggested the DNC had worked to
undermine Clinton's rival,
Bernie Sanders.
>> Bombshell revelations about
how the Democratic National
Committee does business.
>> NARRATOR: The release
triggered just the kind of
disruption Putin wanted.
>> There were real cracks in the
Democratic Party because of
Russia hacking.
You saw Democrats warring with
each other, with Senator
Sanders' supporters railing
against the Clinton supporters
on the convention floor, the
swelling protests.
It was chaos in Philly.
And it was because of these
emails.
>> This is what democracy
looks like!
>> Passions of the Sanders camp
are fully inflamed...
>> One of the most dramatic
moments at the convention, which
was helped along by the
Wikileaks disclosures, was
Sanders' people getting up,
walking out of the convention.
>> Hey, hey, DNC, we won't vote
for Hillary!
>> Sanders has accused the DNC
of putting their thumb on the
scale for Clinton.
>> The effectiveness of this
interference from Russia depends
on a couple of things, right?
It depends on the polarization
of politics in America.
There were divides.
And Russia was pushing out
material that exploited those
divides, that broadened them,
that called attention to those
divides.
>> Putin loves the idea that no
one is saint.
That every politician is
corrupt.
Any election is rigged.
We are all the same-- we are all
dirty bastards.
That cynical approach, that is
actually almost official
ideology of today's Russia.
>> This is what democracy
looks like!
>> Clinton's going to need those
Sanders supporters, but there is
some damning information that
came out today...
>> NARRATOR: As the DNC emails
made news, Donald Trump was
quick to seize the story.
>> It was sort of fresh, inside
material from the other side
that he had to draw on.
I mean, for Donald Trump, it's
sort of a godsend.
>> I'm not going to tell Putin
what to do.
Why should I tell Putin what to
do?
>> NARRATOR: Trump didn't focus
on the source of the leaks, he
exploited the content of the
emails.
>> Let me tell you, it's not
even about Russia or China or
whoever it is that's doing the
hacking.
It was about the things that
were said in those emails.
They were terrible things.
>> Trump's willingness to
exploit this situation, to use
all these emails, really
compound the impact.
I mean, Russia couldn't have
envisioned that it would have a
candidate willing to do that.
That is a huge factor.
>> NARRATOR: Still, Trump
couldn't avoid questions about
Putin and the Russian hacking.
>> What do I have to get
involved with Putin for?
I have nothing to do with Putin,
I've never spoken to him, I
don't know anything about him
other than he will respect me.
>> He doesn't see this as a
fundamental attack by an
adversary.
He sees this as just, you know,
part of the circus, you know, of
American democracy.
His response is to invite them
to do it more.
He says, "Hey, Russia, if you're
listening, maybe you can find
those missing Hillary Clinton
emails."
>> But it would be interesting
to see, I will tell you this--
Russia, if you're listening, I
hope you're able to find the
30,000 emails that are missing.
>> It was a jarring moment.
And we sat there with our jaws
open.
We couldn't believe that a
presidential candidate was
encouraging a foreign power, an
adversary, to meddle in an
election.
>> Donald Trump is fanning the
flames of the email hack
involved in the Democratic...
>> ...even inciting the Russians
to help find some other...
>> The reaction continuing to
pour in...
>> NARRATOR: At the Central
Intelligence Agency, there was
growing concern about the
implications of the leaks.
>> It was quite clear to me that
we were seeing a campaign on the
part of the Russians, that it
was a much more aggressive, much
more intense, and much more
worrisome effort.
>> NARRATOR: The intelligence
community's analysis had already
linked the DNC intrusion to
Russian hackers-- the very ones
used in Ukraine.
But now at C.I.A. headquarters,
they said they had something
more: direct evidence that
Vladimir Putin himself was
personally involved.
>> To get the intelligence that
corroborates that was the coup
for the C.I.A.
>> The agency has obtained
intelligence that shows that
Putin is behind this operation.
Putin is setting its goals.
Putin is not only aware of this,
but aware that they're planning
to weaponize this information.
>> He rarely communicates by
phone or email or anything
electronic.
So for them to get this kind of
intelligence was pretty
significant.
>> NARRATOR: Exactly what the
C.I.A. found is classified, but
to Brennan it was a
game-changer.
>> It was something that was, I
think, worrying to all of us,
particularly since we didn't
know the extent of what it is
that the Russians were engaged
in.
And we didn't know how far they
would go to really threaten the
integrity of the election.
>> NARRATOR: The information was
dispatched from C.I.A.
headquarters to the offices of
the director of national
intelligence, James Clapper.
>> I reacted viscerally when I
understood the magnitude of what
they were doing, and that it was
in fact orchestrated at the
highest levels of the Russian
government, meaning Putin
himself.
I've seen a lot of bad stuff in
my 50-plus years in
intelligence.
That really shook me.
>> NARRATOR: With Clapper on
board, Brennan delivered the
details to the president in
person.
>> Obama's senior-most officials
have told us that he was taken
aback by this, that the
president was alarmed, as well.
>> NARRATOR: At the White House,
some wanted the president to
sound the alarm to the American
people.
>> There's a big debate inside
the Obama administration.
What kind of actions should they
take?
How public should they be about
raising the alarm?
>> NARRATOR: Veteran Putin
watchers worried that if the
president didn't respond
forcefully, the attacks would
continue.
>> As we are watching what's
happening, those of us who've
seen this movie before, whether
it was in Estonia or Ukraine
it seems absolutely familiar.
>> Everybody that I knew who
read into this and who was
at high levels of the State
Department, supported both
attributing it to the Russians
as early as possible and
responding in a robust way.
>> Obama could have destroyed
computer servers that were
involved in this.
He could have stepped in to
reveal information about Putin
himself and his financial
connections to the oligarchs.
He had all kinds of cyber
choices.
And then he had all kinds of
non-cyber tools: sanctions,
things like that.
>> NARRATOR: But Obama resisted
aggressive responses.
>> I think the feeling was, how
are you going to talk about this
without seeming to be
influencing the election and
taking a side?
I just think they
preferred to stay out of it.
>> Overriding all of
this was President Obama's
concern about not doing anything
that was going to become a
self-fulfilling prophecy for the
Russians, which was to call into
question the integrity of the
election.
>> Very clever on Putin's part,
as well, because President Obama
conceivably could have been
accused of doing the very thing
that Putin himself was doing,
and therefore contributing to
the discrediting of the
election.
>> The other thing is that the
Obama administration expected
Clinton to win. 
And they were afraid that if
they weighed in now, it would
look like they're really putting
their thumbs on the scale.
This is a kind of a classic case
of the Obama administration
overthinking something while
the Russians were just kind of
punching them in the gut.
>> NARRATOR: Before he would
act, the president wanted
congressional Republicans to
join him in calling out Putin
and Russian interference.
>> The Obama administration is
so concerned about being accused
of politicizing intelligence
during the election, they're
really reluctant for the
president himself to go out on
a limb and say, "Look, Russia is
doing this.
Russia's messing around in our
election."
They really wanted this to be a
bipartisan statement of
condemnation of Moscow's
interference.
>> NARRATOR: Top intelligence
officials traveled to Capitol
Hill to tell congressional
leaders what they knew.
>> They were all there: the
speaker, Leader Pelosi, Leader
McConnell, Leader Reid, the
foreign affairs committees, the
intel committees.
They were all there.
And we briefed them on what we
knew.
>> NARRATOR: Senate Republican
leader Mitch McConnell expressed
skepticism about the
intelligence, and warned that he
would not join an effort to
publicly challenge Putin.
>> They're told by Mitch
McConnell, the majority leader
of the Senate, that, "If you do
that, we are going to interpret
that as you putting the thumb on
the scales for Hillary Clinton."
>> NARRATOR: The meetings were
top secret, held behind closed
doors.
>> In those briefings of
Congress, some of the
individuals expressed concern
that this was motivated by
partisan interests on the part
of the administration.
And I took offense to that, and
told them that this is an
intelligence assessment.
This is an intelligence matter.
>> It's a moment when politics
and partisan positioning appears
to take precedence over national
security.
In other words, they are so
worried about each other, the
Democrats and Republicans, as
adversaries, that they can't get
around the idea that there is a
bigger adversary.
>> NARRATOR: In Moscow,
President Vladimir Putin denied
being at the center of the
hacking, but he seemed pleased
to be the center of attention.
>> Everybody started to talk
about Russia.
Some questions were asked.
Vladimir Putin clearly enjoyed
himself when he was asked these
questions in the beginning of
September.
He gave some, well, conventional
answers with some wink but that
was all.
(speaking Russian)
(chuckles)
>> (translated): I don't know
anything about that.
You know, there are so many
hackers today.
And they act so delicately and
precisely, then they can leave
their trace in the necessary
time and place or even someone
else's trace.
>> There's always plausible
deniability built into the
system.
So a lot of the hackers that are
working for the Russian
government, they're not
necessarily wearing, you know,
epaulets and uniforms.
They're not necessarily sitting
in G.R.U. bunkers in Moscow or
somewhere in Russia.
A lot of them are freelancers.
(speaking Russian)
>> (translated): Does it even
matter who hacked this data from
the campaign headquarters of
Mrs. Clinton?
Is that really important?
The important thing is the
content that has been given to
the public.
>> And the Russians were not
really denying it.
This is classic Russian tactic,
where they, they-- it's
deniability.
There's a veneer of deniability.
But at the same time, the
Russians are telegraphing with
kind of a wink, "We'll see what
we can do."
(woman speaking Russian)
>> NARRATOR: In September,
President Barack Obama decided
to personally deliver a warning
to Vladimir Putin.
(man speaking Russian)
The scene was the G20 summit in
Hangzhou, China.
>> We had talked about the
importance of making sure that
President Obama seized that
opportunity, so that Mr. Putin
understood the gravity of
this, the seriousness with which
Mr., President Obama viewed it,
and the need to cease and
desist.
>> NARRATOR: They posed for
formal pictures.
Later, Obama pulled Putin aside.
>> And the pictures from that
meeting are pretty
extraordinary.
President Obama is looking down
on Putin and says, "We know what
you're doing, and you need to
stop it."
I mean, this is the most direct
warning that one state can
deliver to another.
>> The picture tells a thousand
words.
I think President Obama's face
really conveys a sense of deep
concern and sending a message to
Mr. Putin.
>> NARRATOR: Despite the
confrontation, Putin continued
to deny Russian involvement.
>> The response we got from the
Russians-- largely what we
always get from the Russians,
which is, "We're not doing
anything. 
It's not us.
I don't know what you're talking
about.
We would never interfere in your
system the way you interfere
with our system."
Just straight-out denials:
"We're not involved, it's not
us.
We would never do such a thing."
>> We turn now to the race for
the White House.
>> ...only six weeks until
Election Day.
The battle of the ballot...
>> NARRATOR: That fall, as
Hillary Clinton prepared for the
final weeks of the campaign,
her staff was becoming
increasingly concerned that the
Russians were involved in more
than just hacking.
>> We were watching stories
about Hillary Clinton appearing
on Russian propaganda websites
like Russia Today and Sputnik.
>> A Democratic frontrunner
has been forced to refute rumors
of her deteriorating health,
maybe...
>> And then somehow ending up in
very similar form, in the right-
wing media ecosystem of the
United States-- Breitbart and
Info Wars, even Fox News.
>> What was once a concern
voiced in whispers is now
getting mainstream attention.
We're talking about Hillary
Clinton's health.
>> Clinton is, quote...
>> NARRATOR: On RT, a cable
channel distributed worldwide
and controlled by the Kremlin...
>> Various theories about her
health caught on...
>> NARRATOR: ...exaggerated and
questionable stories about
Clinton's health began to
circulate.
>> Under a microscope are
Clinton's falls, coughs, and
head motions.
(reporters overlapping)
(laughter)
>> Did you talk about vice
presidential possibilities with
Senator Warren?
>> You guys have got to try the
cold chai.
>> This video filmed in June
went viral and started a slew of
rumors that Clinton may have had
a seizure.
>> Some have said it's like a
mini-seizure.
What does it look like to you?
>> It could be a post-concussion
syndrome-- you know, your
balance is off, you're dizzy all
the time...
>> In the world of hybrid
warfare and disinformation, all
you need to do is float
something that's incorrect or
wrong, and then other people
will seize on it, and
dissemination happens at light
speed.
>> The fact is, she's out there
giving speeches every day and
has to cancel them having these
coughing fits.
(coughing)
>> New questions tonight about
Hillary Clinton's health.
>> Good evening, it was a
dramatic moment that's already
being watch and re-watched.
>> The episode this morning is
raising more questions about her
health.
>> NARRATOR: Similar stories
appeared on the Russian-
controlled news service Sputnik.
>> This is a multi-pronged
attack.
A lot of times these kinds of
efforts involve things that are
only half-true, but create doubt
and suspicion that's part of the
goal.
>> Health scare for Hillary
Clinton over the weekend...
>> Questions about...
>> NARRATOR: On social media,
the stories exploded.
(woman speaking Russian)
>> It was not true, the idea
that Hillary Clinton was sick.
But because of the way in which
you were experiencing the news,
and what you were reading, you
could spend your whole day being
fed information that reinforced
this belief that Hillary Clinton
was hiding something.
>> NARRATOR: Fueling the social
media boom: fake users designed
to look like Americans, trolls
supporting the Kremlin, an army
of automated accounts called
bots on Twitter, and targeted
advertisements on Facebook and
Google.
>> It involves the use of bots,
the use of technology, to
spread artificial news, what
many people call fake news.
>> NARRATOR: The stories made it
into the mainstream media, too,
and on the campaign trail,
Donald Trump would use them to
his advantage.
>> And she can't make it 15 feet
to her car, give me a break.
Give me a break.
>> He would cite material that
was from what we used to call
the fringe.
But the fringe became the center
of American political life.
>> Give me a break!
>> And some of that fringe
involved Russian stories that
weren't accurate.
(man speaking Russian)
>> Because what Putin was trying
to do was to show that
everyone's lying, everyone's
cheating.
There is no objective truth.
And there is no difference
between what you hear from
Western media and what you hear
in, say, Russia's media.
That was the line, and he
became increasingly successful
in blurring it for people,
including in the United States
and the West.
>> Top Democrats are accusing
very senior levels of the
Russian government of trying to
influence...
>> Did Russia do the hackings?
Did they do it to influence the
American political election?
>> NARRATOR: As the size and
scope of Russian interference
intensified, the intelligence
agencies grew increasingly
concerned.
>> They said they believe
Russian hackers are behind those
attacks in a possible attempt...
>> There was an emerging picture
that was becoming clearer and
clearer, of interference,
attempts to interfere in our
democracy.
>> NARRATOR: In tense debates,
Secretary Johnson pushed for
going public with the
intelligence about Putin and the
hacking.
>> A number of us felt very
strongly that we had to tell the
American public what we knew,
and that it would be
unforgivable, post-election, if
we had not.
>> Jeh and I were, I think, of
like mind here, that if the
election, for whatever reason
and whatever manner were to go
south, and then afterwards it
was learned that we knew about
what the Russians were doing, or
had some pretty good insight
into what they were doing, and
we didn't say anything about it
before the election, there would
really be hell to pay.
>> NARRATOR: Finally, Obama
agreed.
>> Obama still doesn't want this
to be in his name.
So he enlists his intelligence
chief, James Clapper, and his
homeland security chief, Jeh
Johnson, to put out a statement
in their names, hoping that that
will be perceived as less
partisan than if the president
had done so himself.
>> NARRATOR: But just agreeing
on what would be said would be
difficult.
>> The statement that Jim
Clapper and Jeh Johnson put out
went through an arduous review
process, including in the White
House Situation Room, just
trying to get the tone right,
make sure the message was right.
>> NARRATOR: The vetted
statement was just three
paragraphs long.
>> ...the Russian Government
directed the recent compromises
of emails from U.S. persons and
institutions..."
>> There were a few interesting
things about that intelligence
report.
First, it gave us no details.
Second, it was incredibly late.
And it took the intelligence
community more than two months
to be able to come up with a few
sentences that essentially
confirmed that story.
>> NARRATOR: Also missing: any
mention of President Putin's
personal involvement.
>> They could have said Putin,
but they didn't.
His name got taken out of the
final statement because of a
concern over sources and methods
and of concern about appearing
to be too provocative.
>> It didn't say they had seen
evidence, although they had.
It didn't say they were
listening in on conversations
that would take it directly to
Putin, although they had.
It said, "It had to have been
ordered at the highest levels."
>> NARRATOR: At the White House,
they held their collective
breaths and sent it out to the
media.
>> I thought our statement was
going to be really, really big
news.
It was unprecedented that the
U.S. government was accusing
another superpower of
effectively putting their thumb
on the scale of our democracy
and attempting to influence our
election.
>> NARRATOR: They'd planned the
release for a Friday afternoon.
>> From the White House's
perspective, they're going to
drop this thing on a Friday and
they're going to own news
coverage over the weekend.
This was going to be a big
story.
>> ...the Russians, at the
highest levels of the Russian
government, have authorized
cyber attacks on...
>> We thought this was a pretty
good news story.
And we started figuring out how
quickly we could get it up on
the web, ripping up page one.
And along comes one even more
wild.
>> Pete, thank you for that.
And some breaking news, this
coming in just in the last few
seconds.
NBC News has just become aware
of a video capturing Donald
Trump making vulgar comments
about women...
>> And that was, of course, the
famous tape of Trump boasting
about how he would deal with
women when he was such a star
and, you know, he could get away
with anything.
>> Breaking late this evening,
a blast from the past that seems
to be exploding in the face of
the Republican presidential
nominee, Donald Trump.
>> NARRATOR: News of the tape
broke at 4:00 p.m.
>> And that pushes aside even
the news of Vladimir Putin
interfering in our election.
And that tape becomes the
dominant story of the day.
>> This is much better.
This is...
>> The "Access Hollywood" video
came out the same day.
And the media all were like
cattle.
And they went off and grazed in
the other end of the pasture.
>> It's the audio recording
sending shockwaves across the
presidential election...
>> Biden called Trump's comments
disgusting...
>> A deeply offensive comment
Trump made about women and
potential...
>> And it's like an avalanche.
I mean, the warning that the
Obama administration was
desperately trying to convey
with that statement ends up at
the bottom of that avalanche.
>> The Trump camp has swiftly
launched into disaster mode...
>> NARRATOR: It looked like
Trump's campaign might be over.
>> ...that this is the end of
the Donald Trump campaign.
>> Nothing he's going to be able
to do to recover from this...
>> NARRATOR: And then, just
minutes after the Trump tape
surfaced, another bombshell.
>> A flood of emails suggests
that in private, her advisers...
>> NARRATOR: Wikileaks suddenly
began releasing those John
Podesta emails that had been
captured by Russian hackers
months before.
>> The leaks of my emails, they
didn't occur until October, an
hour after the "Access
Hollywood" tape became public.
So clearly, I think this, this
was done to some extent to
distract the press, to get them
off the "Access Hollywood"
story.
>> Breaking news here.
Wikileaks is about to release,
quote, "significant material
tied to Hillary Clinton."
>> The campaign is doing damage
control tonight after Wikileaks
released...
>> I was in a room dealing with
Wikileaks emails when that
happened.
And I think people forget that,
that for Trump there were some
really embarrassing moments.
But for us, every day, you know,
there was more and more coming
out.
>> Campaign manager Robby
Mook lashed out, writing,
quote, "Wow, what a terrorist."
>> NARRATOR: It was just the
beginning.
Podesta's emails would continue
to leak through Election Day.
>> So the "Access Hollywood"
tape is like this supernova that
explodes on that day.
The Podesta emails, it's, like,
this fuse that's lit on this,
on that day, and just slowly
burns until it sort of blows up
as you get closer to the
election.
>> ...release of emails from
Hillary Clinton's campaign
chairman, John Podesta.
>> NARRATOR: Amplifying the
Podesta emails once again: the
trolls, the bots, RT, and Donald
Trump himself.
>> Wikileaks is amazing, the
stuff that's coming out.
It shows she's a real liar.
This Wikileaks stuff is
unbelievable.
It tells you the inner heart.
You got to read it.
Wikileaks.
I love Wikileaks.
>> Everybody was complicit in
Wikileaks and the, and the
Russians were complicit in it.
The Trump campaign was
amplifying it.
The press all focused on
Hillary Clinton, and in a
negative way.
>> It is decision day in
America, and we are taking a
look at the presidential race...
>> After a long, contentious
presidential race, we are near
the end...
>> NARRATOR: After all the
chaos, the hacks, and fake news,
it was finally Election Day.
>> Polling shows a tight race
nationally, but with Hillary
Clinton ahead.
>> NARRATOR: In Moscow, they
were watching as the results
came in.
(speaking Russian)
>> It's hard to imagine that
many people in Moscow thought
that Donald Trump was going to
win...
(speaking Russian)
>> ...since nobody else did.
They read the same things that
we read and see the same polls
and the same pundits.
(speaking Russian)
>> NARRATOR: Then as the upset
became clear...
>> Unbe-(bleep)-lievable.
>> Cause of jubilation.
Everybody was so happy because
it was such a big surprise.
(cheering)
>> ♪ We are the champions of the
world! ♪
>> Everybody believed that there
is a special agreement, secret
agreement, between the elites to
get Clinton elected.
>> NARRATOR: Behind the scenes
at the Duma...
(speaking Russian)
...some Russian legislators
collectively raised a champagne
toast.
>> They didn't expect Trump to
win.
They just thought they were
going to bloody Clinton's nose.
They didn't expect to break her
neck.
>> NARRATOR: Trump's election
was seen as a sign of strength
for Putin.
>> It did demonstrate to
ordinary Russians Putin is
deciding the fate of American
elections.
It is taken as a sign of
Putin's greatness and of
Russia's greatness, as well.
(man speaking Russian)
>> Donald Trump's surprise win
and uncertainty surrounding...
>> What may be one of the
biggest political stunners in
U.S. history.
>> I, Donald John Trump, do
solemnly swear...
>> NARRATOR: On January 20,
the candidate Putin had
supported became the president
of the United States.
>> ...to protect and defend the
Constitution of the United
States, so help me God.
(man speaking Russian)
>> (translated): I don't know
who in America believed that
Putin elected Trump.
But Putin believed that.
Putin believed that.
>> NARRATOR: Trump rode to
victory promising to make
America great again, but the
story of Russian interference
would continue.
>> The Russian cloud was with
Trump on day one at the
inauguration.
It's with him months later.
And it will probably be with him
even until the end of his
presidency.
>> Michael Flynn resigning under
fire...
>> Sessions doubles down,
categorically denying that...
>> ...has recused himself...
>> NARRATOR: His presidency was
increasingly consumed by
questions about possible
collusion between his campaign
and Russia.
>> This is a story that won't go
away.
And it eats away at Trump.
He watches TV, he sees it in the
paper, he hears people talk
about it, and it just gnaws at
him.
>> ... Moscow bank that acts as
a front for Russian espionage.
>> President Trump has fired
James Comey as the director of
the FBI.
>> President Trump now facing
outrage after firing Comey.
>> NARRATOR: Vladimir Putin is
now at the center of a major
American political scandal.
>> The U.S. Senate has passed a
bill to impose new sanctions on
Russia.
>> Putin has strutted back onto
the stage, you know, shoulders
back, saying, "Russia is here."
But he's also created a terrible
backlash, and I don't think we
know yet where that's going to
lead.
>> A bill slapping new sanctions
on Russia now headed to the
president's desk.
>> NARRATOR: The conflict
between Putin's Russia and
America only seems to deepen.
>> President Donald Trump
revealed highly classified
information to the Russians...
>> ...break the law and did he
compromise national security
as...
>> Mr. Putin sees these things
in zero-sum fashion.
If the U.S. president, or the
U.S., is diminished in the eyes
of the world, it just benefits
Russia.
To me, I think Mr. Putin sees
this as a tremendous success.
>> ...tracking reaction tonight
to the appointment of a special
counsel to the Russia...
>> ...the bombshell email chain
on Donald Trump, Jr.'s Russia
meeting...
>> NARRATOR: A spy, a master
bureaucrat, a strongman.
Vladimir Putin and his quest for
revenge has cast a shadow over
American democracy.
>> Special counsel Robert
Mueller has issued subpoenas
to...
>> Well, he's gotta be pretty
happy.
He personally, and the Russians
collectively, way exceeded
expectations, which was to sow
discord and discontent in this
country.
And they, they succeeded
eminently.
>> Facebook has been under
scrutiny for weeks after
admitting Russians used the
platform...
>> By the way, the Russians
aren't going to stop.
Their experience in our 2016
election is going to embolden
them to interfere in the future,
maybe more aggressively.
>> Three people with ties
to President Trump are
now facing charges...
>> Manafort and Gates
indicted by a federal grand
jury on 12 counts...
>> A former Trump campaign
aid has plead guilty...
>> ...plead guilty and is now
cooperating with the
Mueller investigation.
♪ ♪
>> For more on this and other
"Frontline" programs, visit our
website at pbs.org/frontline.
>> Frontline "Putin's Revenge"
is available on DVD.
To order, visit shopPBS.org
or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
"Frontline" is also available
for download on iTunes.
♪ ♪
