Claim: Vladimir Putin, believing that Russia was being demeaned on the international stage by a series of scandals he publicly attributed to the United States, such as the Olympic doping scandal and the Panama Papers, sought to use the leaks of politically damaging material in the U.S. as a method of tarnishing the image of the United States.
Evidence: Vladimir Putin believed that Russia was being demeaned on the international stage by a series of scandals he publicly attributed to the United States, such as the Olympic doping scandal and the Panama Papers. Putin sought to use the leaks of politically damaging material in the U.S. as a method of tarnishing the image of the United States.