No 32–04 \ vd is part of a tranche of secret Russian documents known as the Kremlin papers, allegedly leaked by insiders in the Kremlin. The plan was to use "all possible force" to support
Donald J. Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.
...
's election in 2016 and destabilize America.
Description
The report was made public by ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' without disclosing its source.
The report outlines a plan to put Trump into the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
in 2016 to promote Russian interests and to weaken the United States. The report also discusses the existence of ''
kompromat
Kompromat ( rus, компромат, p=kəmprɐˈmat, a=Ru-компрома́т.ogg, short for "compromising material") is damaging information about a politician, a businessperson, or other public figure, which may be used to create negative p ...
'' on Trump, so-called compromising material, according to the document, collected from Trump's previous visits to Russia.Harding, Luke; Borger, Julian; Sabbagh, Dan (July 15, 2021) "Kremlin papers appear to show Putin’s plot to put Trump in White House" ''The Guardian''. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
The papers describe Trump as an "impulsive, mentally unstable and unbalanced individual" who suffers from "an inferiority complex". The author recommended using "all possible force to facilitate his election to the post of US president". Based on the release, it is thought that
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
approved of the operation on January 22, 2016, at a private meeting of the Russian national security council. During that meeting, it was determined by a Russian spy agency that they would hack US targets to collect information and prepare measures towards helping Trump.
Shortly after the meeting, it is believed that Putin set up a commission to influence the 2016 US presidential election headed by Russia's defense minister
Sergei Shoigu
Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu; , . (born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as secretary of the Security Council since 2024. He served as Minister of Defence of Russia from 2012 to 2024. Shoigu has served a ...
. He directed GRU military intelligence, SVR foreign intelligence and the FSB to work towards electing Trump as president. Just a few months later, on March 19, Russian hackers sent phishing emails to
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
's campaign chairman
John Podesta
John David Podesta Jr. (born January 8, 1949) is an American political consultant who served as Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy from 2024 to 2025, having previously served as the Senior Advisor to the President ...
, resulting in the
Podesta emails
In March 2016, the personal Gmail account of John Podesta, a former White House chief of staff and chair of Hillary Clinton's 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, was compromised in a data breach accomplished via a spear-phishing attack, and some ...
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
's spokesman
Dmitry Peskov
Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov (, ; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat serving as the Kremlin Press Secretary, spokesman for President of Russia, Russian president Vladimir Putin since 2012.