The committee found that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military intelligence service GRU to hack computer networks and accounts connected to the Democratic Party and leak information that was harmful to Hillary Clinton and her campaign for president in 2016.
Partially secret reportAccording to the nearly 1,000-page report, which was partially published on Tuesday, the Russian government had established links with Julian Assange and Wikileaks.
"This connection has existed since at least 2012 and reflects a consensus between the Russian government and Wikileaks regarding undermining US institutions and US security," the committee wrote.
It includes formal collaborations with state-run Russian media platforms, state support for Wikileaks employees and sources, and information sharing, according to the Intelligence Committee chaired by Republican Senator Marco Rubio.
The report warns of a similar scenario in 2020 when Democrat Joe Biden challenges Donald Trump as president.
"What happened in the United States in 2016 should sound the alarm bells for the country and for those preparing to defend the country against current and growing threats to the upcoming US election."
Preparations are already underway, the report states.
"In the run-up to the 2020 election, Russia is once again stepping in to assist Donald Trump, and some of the president's aides support these efforts. It is of the utmost importance that the country is ready. ”
The single clearest link between Trump's 2016 election campaign and the Russian government is a Russian intelligence officer, Konstantin Kilimnik. He is mentioned 826 times in the report.
Kilimnik is said to have played a key role in the Russian government's involvement in the election. Kilimnik is said to have been employed by the now imprisoned Paul Manafort, who led Trump's election campaign.
Kilimnik claims that he left the military in 1995 and went on to teach Swedish at the Russian Defense College, which reports to Russia's Ministry of Defense.
He has also been part of several Russian trade delegations to Sweden, according to the report.
Manafort is serving a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence for tax offenses and violations of banking laws following an investigation by prosecutor Robert Mueller.