One curious aspect of the 2016 presidential campaign has been Donald Trump’s startling affinity for Vladimir Putin, the increasingly authoritarian president of Russia. Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin have spoken admiringly of each other; exhibited similar strongman tendencies; and seemed to share certain views, notably a disdain for NATO. But would Mr. Putin really interfere in the American presidential race to help Mr. Trump, the Republican Party nominee, get elected over the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton?
As odd as that may sound, it is being considered a serious possibility after the release on Friday of nearly 20,000 emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee’s computer servers, many of them embarrassing to Democratic leaders. The emails, made public by WikiLeaks, forced the swift resignation of the D.N.C.’s chairwoman, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz. And the Democrats expect more leaks.
It may take time to prove who was behind the cyberattacks, but American intelligence agencies have reportedly told the White House they have “high confidence” it was Russia. Several cybersecurity firms that examined the metadata said it looked like the work of two Russian intelligence agencies that last year conducted cyberoperations on the White House, the State Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The F.B.I. is investigating.
There is nothing new about intelligence services for the United States and Russia hacking each other’s computer systems or trying to covertly influence other countries’ domestic politics. In recent years, Mr. Putin has invaded Ukraine, stoking political tensions there and in the Baltic States, and financed right-wing politicians across Europe; during the Cold War, the United States secretly tried to influence elections in Indonesia, Italy, Chile and Poland. What seems new here is the idea that a government would publicly disclose information it got from hacking into the computers of an American political party in order to influence an election.
The Democrats are eager to exploit a Trump-Putin connection. The notion that a foreign power, especially a newly aggressive Russia, might be trying to sway the election is antithetical to democratic principles and America’s interests. As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, who became the Democratic nominee on Tuesday, tried to create a better working relationship with Russia, on issues like arms control and Iran, but the effort ultimately failed. Mr. Putin could also be retaliating against Mrs. Clinton for real or imagined perfidies; he accused her of meddling in Russia’s 2011 parliamentary election.
Mr. Trump has dismissed the idea of a Russian intervention on his behalf as a joke. But his past words about Mr. Putin have caused some to suspect that Moscow would seek to give Mr. Trump an edge in the election. At a time when Russia is under sanctions for its Ukraine invasion and isolated from groups like the Group of 7, Mr. Trump has made no secret of his admiration for Mr. Putin. He has even said Mr. Putin is “a lot stronger than our leader.”
Mr. Trump’s lack of commitment to the defense of NATO allies and his retreat from the world would unquestionably serve Mr. Putin’s dream of unraveling the Western alliance and re-establishing Russia as a superpower. Although as a developer Mr. Trump never got the real estate foothold in Russia that he craved, he has spent 30 years courting Russian politicians. His campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, has extensive financial and political dealings with business executives in Russia and Ukraine, and served as a political strategist for Viktor Yanukovych, the deposed pro-Russia president of Ukraine.
If it is proved that Mr. Putin instigated the D.N.C. hack, it could backfire. But regardless of whether Mr. Putin is out to help Mr. Trump, voters would be right to question the judgment of a candidate who has shown so much admiration for such a dangerous adversary.
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