US intelligence chief says Russia involvement in 2016 election unprecedented

Clapper testifies before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on foreign cyber threats, on Capitol Hill in Washington

US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Thursday that Russia has a “long history” of interfering in elections, but that US officials had never encountered activity like its efforts during the 2016 US campaign.

“The Russians have a long history of interfering in elections. Theirs and other people’s… This goes back to the 60s, from the heyday of the Cold War,” he testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

However, he added, “I don’t think we’ve ever encountered a more aggressive or direct campaign to interfere in our election process than we’ve seen in this case.”