Clinton claims Putin’s ‘personal beef’ against her led to hacking attacks

Hillary Clinton has accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of personally directing a cyberattack against her during the US election campaign “because he has a personal beef against me”.

Speaking to a group of donors in Manhattan, the failed Democratic presidential candidate said that Putin had never forgiven her for stating in 2011, when she was secretary of state, that Russian parliamentary elections held that year were rigged.

“Putin publicly blamed me for the outpouring of outrage by his own people, and that is the direct line between what he said back then and what he did in this election,” Clinton said.

US intelligence agencies have blamed Russian hackers for targeting Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta during the election. The hacked emails were published on WikiLeaks, and the CIA has reportedly concluded that the Russians were trying to swing the election for Donald Trump.

“Make no mistake, as the press is finally catching up to the facts, which we desperately tried to present to them during the last months of the campaign,” Clinton said. “This is not just an attack on me and my campaign, although that may have added fuel to it. This is an attack against our country. We are well beyond normal political conerncs here. This is about the integrity of our democracy and the security of our nation.”

She said that the hacking was one of two “unprecedented” events that led to her defeat, with the other being the release of a letter by FBI director James Comey, shortly before the election, disclosing new questions about emails handled by her private server.

“Swing-state voters made their decisions in the final days breaking against me because of the FBI letter from Director Comey,” she said. 

Outgoing US President Barack Obama has pledged to take action against Russia for its alleged interference, but President-elect Donald Trump has dismissed the allegations as “ridiculous” and politically motivated.

The Kremlin has decried the claims as “indecent” and lacking in any evidence.

“They need to either stop talking about this or finally present some sort of proof,” Putin’s spokesperson said.