Speaking to ABC News, US President Joe Biden has said Russian President Vladimir Putin will “pay a price” for Russia’s efforts to swing the 2020 US election to Donald Trump.
Biden was responding to a question on what the consequences of Russia’s election interference would be, the details of which were expanded upon after a declassified US intelligence report on Tuesday found broad efforts by the Kremlin and Iran to shape the outcome of the race.
“You’ll see shortly,” was Biden’s reply on whether there would be consequences.
The declassified dossier, released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, represents the most detailed assessment of the array of foreign threats to the 2020 election.
These included efforts by Iran to undermine confidence in the vote and harm Trump's reelection prospects as well as Moscow operations that relied on Trump's allies to smear Joe Biden, the eventual winner.
Despite those threats, though, intelligence officials found "no indications that any foreign actor attempted to interfere in the 2020 US elections by altering any technical aspect of the voting process, including voter registration, ballot casting, vote tabulation, or reporting results.
Biden has already taken action against Russia, breaking with the warmer approach that Trump took during his term. On March 2, the US announced sanctions on senior Russian officials over the attempt to assassinate opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a nerve agent.
In the interview with ABC, when asked whether he thought Putin was a killer, Biden said he did. He also related an anecdote where he claimed to have met Putin, stared him in the eye and told him he thinks the Russian leader had no soul.
