U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News they had “a high level of confidence” that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally directed how messages and other documents hacked from Democrats were used to influence the presidential election. Two senior intelligence officials said information on Putin’s role came from diplomatic sources and spies working for U.S. allies. The effort reportedly started as retaliation against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for criticizing Russian parliamentary elections in 2011, and developed into a broader effort to expose flaws in America’s political system and convince American allies that they “couldn’t depend on the U.S. to be a credible global leader anymore,” one official said.