title:  WHOA: Russians Hacked Voting Systems In 39 States
text: The Russian attacks on our election were far more widespread than previously thought. Recently, a woman by the name of Reality Winner was arrested for leaking classified information related to Kremlin hacking of multiple states  election systems. But the information Winner released is mild in comparison to new information.A new report reveals that Putin s cyberthugs breached voting systems in 39 states  and contrary to the Republican narrative, they did attempt to change or delete voter data in attacks that so concerned the Obama administration that they complained directly to Russia about it.According to Bloomberg, the Obama administration was concerned that the Russian hackers were preparing to delete voter registration information or otherwise disrupt the vote. In fact, they did attempt to alter and delete voter data in Illinois. That idea would obsess the Obama White House throughout the summer and fall of 2016, outweighing worries over the DNC hack and private Democratic campaign emails given to Wikileaks and other outlets, according to one of the people familiar with those conversations,  Bloomberg reports. The Homeland Security Department dispatched special teams to help states strengthen their cyber defenses, and some states hired private security companies to augment those efforts. Bloomberg notes that in many cases, it is difficult to tell how far Russia infiltrated, as some states have offered  limited cooperation  with investigations.How much did Donald Trump s team know about the Russian hacking of our election? It s difficult to tell at this point   but the fervor with which The Donald s friends are defending the Kremlin and denying that the attacks happened sends a clear message that they knew a lot.Featured image via Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla