Disturbing news from Bloomberg this morning discloses that Russian intrusion into U.S. election systems before the 2016 presidential election was much more widespread than publicly disclosed -- including intrusions into voter records and software systems in twice as many states as we were told.

Investigators found evidence that hackers tried to delete or alter voter data in Illinois. They also accessed software designed to be used by poll workers on Election Day, and in at least one state, accessed a campaign finance database.

Bloomberg cited details provided by "three people with direct knowledge of the U.S. investigation." In all, the hackers got into systems in 39 states, one of them said.

The scope and sophistication so concerned Obama administration officials that they took an unprecedented step -- complaining directly to Moscow over a modern-day “red phone.” In October, two of the people said, the White House contacted the Kremlin on the back channel to offer detailed documents of what it said was Russia’s role in election meddling and to warn that the attacks risked setting off a broader conflict.

The new details show the scope of alleged hacking that federal investigators are examining as they look for possible collusion with the Trump campaign.