BREAKING NEWS: Vladimir Putin publicly accused by U.S. government of plot to interfere in presidential election with hacking attacks

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The U.S. government on Friday formally accused Russia of a campaign of recent cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations.

In an extraordinary joint public statement, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said it was confident that Russia's 'senior-most officials' ordered the attacks.

The statement amounts to an accusation that Vladimir Putin ordered interference in the American political system.

It is impossible for such an explosive charge to have been made without authorization from President Obama.

The statement said: 'The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations.

Explosive charge: The claim that embarrassing leaks were the result of an operation ordered by 'senior-most Russian officials' would have to have been authorized by President Obama, who voted early electronically in the presidential election hours before it was issued

Implicated: The phrase Russia's 'senior-most officials' is clearly intended to identify Vladimir Putin, its strongman president, as having ordered the attacks

'We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.'

It added: 'It would be extremely difficult for someone, including a nation-state actor, to alter actual ballot counts or election results by cyber attack or intrusion.

'This assessment is based on the decentralized nature of our election system in this country and the number of protections state and local election officials have in place. States ensure that voting machines are not connected to the Internet, and there are numerous checks and balances as well as extensive oversight at multiple levels built into our election process.' 

The condemnation came amid escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow over a range of international disagreements, including U.S. charges that Russian air strikes in support of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have been hitting hospitals and other civilian targets in rebel-held eastern Aleppo.

California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the vice-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that '[t]he administration's acknowledgement that Russian intelligence agencies are attempting to influence the U.S. election and undermine public confidence conveys the seriousness of the threat.

'Attempted hacking of our election system is intolerable, and it’s critical to convince the Russian government to cease these activities. If it does not, we must develop a strong response.' 

Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who is Feinstein's counterpart in the House of Representatives, said in a statement on Friday that 'I applaud the administration's decision to publicly name Russia as the source of hacks into U.S. political institutions.'

'We should now work with our European allies who have been the victim of similar and even more malicious cyber interference by Russia to develop a concerted response that protects our institutions and deters further meddling.'

A 400-pound man named Ivan? Donald Trump downplayed the possibility of Russia's involvement in the hacks during the first presidential debate, saying it might have been China – or 'somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds'

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will be left to explain himself on Sunday during the second presidential debate.

In his first head-to-head with Democrat Hillary Clinton, he claimed Russia's purported involvement in the series of high-profile computer hacks was by no means a given.

'I don't think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC,' he said. 

'She's saying Russia, Russia, Russia, but I don't – maybe it was. I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, okay?'

'Now, whether that was Russia, whether that was China, whether it was another country, we don't know, because the truth is, under President Obama we've lost control of things that we used to have control over,' Trump claimed. 

In August, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters flatly:  'It is the Russians.'

She called the attack on the DNC an 'electronic Watergate' akin to the 1972 burglary at Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate office building that upended the Nixon presidency. 'This is a break-in.'