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, the leaked documents that detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities, sought to use the leaks of politically damaging material in the U.S. as a method of tarnishing the image of the United States.
Verdict: SUPPORT