Kremlin sources say the Clinton campaign “sent their goons to give Jane Sanders the shakedown,” in order to end the Bernie Sanders campaign before the convention, citing evidence from one of 10,000 Hillary emails Putin has in his personal possession.

The Clinton campaign needed Bernie Sanders on board before the emails were leaked as they contained evidence that confirmed his suggestions of Democratic establishment bias and would have given him unstoppable momentum heading into the convention – had he chosen to play that game.

However after the meeting with the Clinton team Sanders unexpectedly suspended his previously gung-ho campaign, and although he refused to wholeheartedly endorse her, he signalled to his supporters that his run for President was effectively over.

Kremlin sources have denied the DNC claims that Russian state-sponsored hackers are behind the email leaks, with Julian Assange also stating the DNC claim is a politically motivated “lame conspiracy smear.”

Despite the FBI asking the Kremlin for copies of any emails they have in their possession, it is understood the Kremlin has not released anything to anyone, including Wikileaks.

According to Kremlin sources, the source of the Wikileaks email trove could have come from “a huge number of possible sources“, as “intelligence communities around the whole world have copies of Hillary’s emails. Everybody is talking about them.”

Senior staff in the Kremlin have been allowed to see the emails, however Putin alone has access to them and keeps them on his personal laptop, under lock and key. He has been heard staying up until 2am, reading their contents out loud, roaring with laughter.

President Vladimir Putin is said to be amused by Democratic Party attempts to portray him as the villain, when their own failings are on display for all to see. “They always need a babayka [boogeyman] to frighten people with. I am the Eastern boogeyman, it seems.”

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump reached out to the Kremlin, promising them “rewards” if they release Hillary Clinton’s missing emails.

“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing,” Trump said on Wednesday.

“I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let’s see if that happens. That will be next.”

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, while not directly denying Russian involvement in the hack, said Moscow would never interfere in another country’s election.

“President Putin more than once has said that Russia would never interfere and does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, especially in the electoral process,” Dmitry Peskov told journalists Wednesday in a conference call.

Peskov also criticized the willingness to accuse Russia of wrongdoing. “If we talk about some sort of suspicions against a country, then it is necessary at a minimum to be precise and concrete,” the spokesman said.

He said “speculation in this case does not show a constructive attitude.“