PUTIN SUGGESTS RUSSIAN CIVILIANS PRIVATELY INTERFERED WITH ELECTION

This is something I think could have happened.

But are you telling me that the Russian intels didn't know? And didn't stop them?

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said "patriotic minded" private Russian hackers unconnected to the government could be behind major hacks that interfered in other nations' elections.

“If they are patriotically minded, they start making their contributions — which are right, from their point of view — to the fight against those who say bad things about Russia,” Putin said at a press conference, according to the New York Times.

...But intelligence experts believe criminal hackers are often contracted by the Russian government to conduct espionage campaigns. A criminal contractor was among those fingered by the FBI for the Yahoo attack.

JUST IN: Putin says US election hacks could be work of "patriotic-minded" Russians https://t.co/nbi9ysqIxZ pic.twitter.com/PyZAqzZjSD

— The Hill (@thehill) 1 June 2017