Russian officials dismiss the suggestion that the Kremlin hacked Democratic Party emails as a “maniacal” ploy to exploit fear of Russia and gain traction in the presidential election, although they do not specify who they think had planted the story.  

“This is not breaking new ground,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters  Tuesday when asked about the leaked emails, according to a Reuters report. “This is an old trick which is being played again.”  

American intelligence agencies said this week they had “high confidence ” that the Russian government had stolen emails and documents from the Democratic National Committee, the only question was whether the Kremlin had engineered their release last weekend in order to influence the election.  

In an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said he could not say whether the Russian government was behind the hack, but that it fit with their “modus agendi,” using a Latin term which means way of operating.  

“I would say it’s totally consistent with who Putin is,” Biden said.   

Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call on your iPhone or your Android.