Russian President Vladimir Putin interfered in the 2016 presidential election because he was afraid of Hillary Clinton the "most," former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. Speaking at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Nancy Pelosi said on Hillary Clinton, “It was her clarity and position to [Putin] that made him turn around and ensure in an illegal way come out against her in her campaign.”
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“Interference in our democracy by Vladimir Putin, because Hillary Clinton was the person he feared most in terms of his lack of democracy in Russia," Nancy Pelosi added. Following the 2016 presidential race, US intelligence found that Vladimir Putin had ordered an interference campaign to meddle in the election with the aim to damage Hillary Clinton's bid against Donald Trump.
The campaign included cyberattacks and hacking into the Democratic National Committee (DNC) server to obtain emails and documents. Hillary Clinton earlier served as secretary of state under former President Barack Obama. During her time at the state department, Hillary Clinton publicly criticized Vladimir Putin's reelection in 2011.
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{{/usCountry}}Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016. He has denied any interference on behalf of Russia in the election, saying in 2018 that he had "great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today."
“He just said it's not Russia. I will say this—I don't see any reason why it would be,” he added.