The Trump Kleptocracy - 1:26 PM 2/6/2019 Update: "Gimme A (FAT) Chance!
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'Give Stupidity A Chance'! Reelect Trump in 2020! With the 20-20 American Vision and Insight! Do give Kleptocracy a chance! - 1:08 PM 2/6/2019
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'Give Stupidity A Chance'! Reelect Trump in 2020! With the 20-20 American Vision and Insight! Do give Kleptocracy a chance! - 1:08 PM 2/6/2019 
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On investigations of the president and associates:
An economic miracle is taking place in the United States -- and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations.All Saved Stories - 25
If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. It just doesn't work that way!
Pet Shop Boys - Give stupidity a chance (lyric video)
Saved Stories - None  | ||
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| Donald Trump: Pet Shop Boys Roast Donald Trump With New Satirical Song 'Give Stupidity A Chance' | ||
The synth-pop duo's latest track takes aim at "the poor quality of political leadership in the modern world." | ||
| "trump as danger to National Security" - Google News: Behind the Legal Efforts to Keep LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers Safe - Out Magazine | ||
Behind the Legal Efforts to Keep LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers Safe Out MagazineThese are the dangers migrants are willing to brave for an opportunity at safety and freedom of movement and expression in the United States.” | ||
| "cambridge analytica" - Google News: The ups and downs in Facebook's 15-year journey - Telegraph India | ||
The ups and downs in Facebook's 15-year journey Telegraph IndiaFacebook@15: Mark Zuckerberg's pleasures and pains.  | ||
| "trump and russia" - Google News: Trump's State of the Union Nixon allusion was probably accidental - CNN | ||
Trump's State of the Union Nixon allusion was probably accidental CNNPresident Donald Trump's State of the Union address was peppered with knowing references to great moments in American history. He praised World War II ... | ||
| House panel expected to send Russia transcripts to Mueller - KOMO News | ||
House panel expected to send Russia transcripts to Mueller KOMO NewsWASHINGTON (AP) — In the panel's first act since Democrats took the majority, the House intelligence committee is expected to vote Wednesday to send more ...  | ||
| "trump and russia" - Google News: OPEC Pursues Formal Pact With Russia - The Wall Street Journal | ||
OPEC Pursues Formal Pact With Russia The Wall Street JournalSaudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf allies are proposing a formal partnership with a 10-nation group led by Russia to try to manage the global oil market, in an ... | ||
| "Russian Intelligence, organized crime and political interference" - Google News: Analysis | The Daily 202: Trump presents a false choice between investigations and prosperity in State of the Union - The Washington Post | ||
Analysis | The Daily 202: Trump presents a false choice between investigations and prosperity in State of the Union The Washington PostThe president channels Nixon and revives his 2016 campaign persona with Pelosi over his shoulder. | ||
| Donald Trump: 'Photoshop Battle' Breaks Out Over Nancy Pelosi's SOTU Clap-Back At Donald Trump | ||
Nancy Pelosi clapping Maroon 5 on stage at the Super Bowl? Check.  | ||
| Politics: Stacey Abrams showed why voting rights must be a key issue for Democrats in 2020 | ||
“We can do so much more: take action on climate change. Defend individual liberties with fair-minded judges. But none of these ambitions are possible without the bedrock guarantee of our right to vote."    | ||
| "Trump" - Google News: Schumer: Trump's address was 'political, divisive, calculating, even nasty at times' - CNN | ||
Schumer: Trump's address was 'political, divisive, calculating, even nasty at times' CNNPresident Donald Trump's second State of the Union address was "political, divisive, calculating, even nasty at times," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ... | ||
| "Trumpism" - Google News: Trump may be America's first Jewish president - Jewish Advocate | ||
Trump may be America's first Jewish president Jewish AdvocateIs Donald Trump a Jewish president? People have called him that because of the Jews he has in his family. People have called him that because he is the best ... | ||
| "Rudy Giuliani" - Google News: Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's testimony at House Intelligence Committee is delayed by nearly 3 weeks - CNBC | ||
Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's testimony at House Intelligence Committee is delayed by nearly 3 weeks CNBCCohen was originally scheduled to testify before the panel on Friday. But Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said the closed-door testimony would be delayed until ... | ||
| Donald Trump | The Guardian: Nancy Pelosi turns clapping into a viral art form as she trolls Trump | ||
House speaker’s sarcastic applause for the president without saying a word has become the defining moment from his State of the Union address Nancy Pelosi is known as a shrewd political tactician and tireless public servant, but after Tuesday night’s State of the Union address she can add world-class mime to her résumé. Throughout the speech the House speaker managed to undermine Trump without speaking a word, employing subtle eye rolls or apparently ignoring him by reading papers to show her disapproval.
When your man says he washed the dishes and needs to be praised. #PelosiClap pic.twitter.com/yjXuLvXMgN
Trying to sleep and can’t stop thinking about Nancy Pelosi’s literal clap back. pic.twitter.com/oJzgUrBOyC
It's been brought to my attention that Pelosi stole this from the Thermians in Galaxy Quest. pic.twitter.com/y5BBhIKNES
Continue reading... | ||
| Schumer: Trump is 'scared' of Congressional oversight - POLITICO | ||
Schumer: Trump is 'scared' of Congressional oversight POLITICOTrump and Schumer had already engaged in a testy exchange leading up to the State of the Union. | ||
| Ms Haspel's pictorial designs, the state of the Union, and the state of Putin's nipples are strong! - As of 6:33 AM 2/6/2019. | ||
 putin feeds baby trump - Google Search
Ms Haspel's pictorial designs, the state of the Union, and the state of Putin's nipples are strong! - As of 6:33 AM 2/6/2019.
Putin breastfeeds Baby Trump (in public and in a broad daylight, no problemas), and "the state of his nipples is strong", according to Colbert, who probably examined them personally. Well, can he be bottle fed, already? He is a big boy now. And that will free Putin to deal with US - Russian relations, already. Adam Levine, follow Colbert's advice! Work on it! - M.N. - 6:33 AM 2/6/2019
And Vladimir Putin has a message for Adam Levine, too.
  M.N.: For me, the most valuable information was contained in the elegant pictorial design of Ms. Haspel's beautiful dress: a lot of pretty lady hats punctuating and presiding over the multiple sinusoidal strands. Every strand is by itself but still woven together in the continuous moving waves, each capped by the modest, pretty, genuine little hat, bursting with zinger red bands - check-marks... Come up with your own interpretations, it would be hard to get wrong with them. Project, absorb, contemplate, analyse, compose, smile... - M.N. Haspel: Intelligence panel 'pleased' with decision to expel 61 Russian ...
Washington Times-Feb 4, 2019
Haspel: Intelligence panel 'pleased' with decision to expel 61 ... impact” on Moscow's “ability to hurt us,” CIA Director Gina Haspel says.
Trump doesn't understand even the basics of national intelligence
Opinion-Los Angeles Times-Feb 4, 2019
Trump slams intel chiefs, says he doesn't have to agree with them
International-New York Post-Feb 3, 2019 The Laundress, Gina Haspel, Stacey Abrams: Broadsheet January 30
Fortune-Jan 30, 2019
Top intelligence officials, including CIA Director Gina Haspel, contradicted key tenets of the Trump administration's foreign policy in testimony ...
CIA chief says Iran still 'technically' adhering to 2015 nuclear deal
The Times of Israel-Jan 29, 2019
Gina Haspel warns senators that Tehran 'considering taking steps' away from JCPOA to pressure Europeans to offer 'investment and trade ...
 Intelligence chiefs' 'threat assessment' refutes Trump assertions
Washington Times-Jan 29, 2019
... greatest danger facing the nation, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, CIA Director Gina Haspel and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray ...
Trump claims his intel chiefs were 'misquoted' when they publicly ...
International-Politico-Jan 31, 2019
Vladimir Putin's State Of The Union Response
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| "donald trump russia" - Google News: Russia just test-fired an ICBM built to beat US defenses as a nuclear arms race heats up - Business Insider | ||
Russia just test-fired an ICBM built to beat US defenses as a nuclear arms race heats up Business InsiderRussia test-fired its advanced RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday, amid rising tensions between Washington and Moscow. | ||
| Donald Trump | The Guardian: Trump bid for luxury flats at Aberdeen golf estate delayed | ||
Council accuses Trump firm of failing to provide correct information in time Proposals to build 550 luxury homes at Donald Trump’s golf course near Aberdeen have been delayed after a fresh row over the planning application. Aberdeenshire council has cancelled plans to consider the Trump Organization’s controversial bid to build a large luxury housing estate near his golf course, which has received a record number of objections from the public. Continue reading... | ||
| "trump and intelligence community" - Google News: Intelligence Committee May Send Mueller Russia Transcripts | Time - TIME | ||
Intelligence Committee May Send Mueller Russia Transcripts | Time TIMEThe House intelligence committee is expected to vote to send over 50 transcripts from its Russia investigation to Robert Mueller.  | ||
| Lawfare - Hard National Security Choices: National Security Highlights in the 2019 State of the Union | ||
On Feb. 5, President Trump gave his third State of the Union address. Below are the excerpts most relevant to Lawfarereaders, organized by topic, in the order in which they were mentioned. A full transcript is available here.
***
On investigations of the president and associates:An economic miracle is taking place in the United States -- and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations. |
Read the whole story
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Pet Shop Boys - Give stupidity a chance (lyric video)
putin feeds baby trump - Google Search
Ms Haspel's pictorial designs, the state of the Union, and the state of Putin's nipples are strong! - As of 6:33 AM 2/6/2019.
Putin breastfeeds Baby Trump (in public and in a broad daylight, no problemas), and "the state of his nipples is strong", according to Colbert, who probably examined them personally. Well, can he be bottle fed, already? He is a big boy now. And that will free Putin to deal with US - Russian relations, already. Adam Levine, follow Colbert's advice! Work on it! - M.N. - 6:33 AM 2/6/2019
And Vladimir Putin has a message for Adam Levine, too.
M.N.: For me, the most valuable information was contained in the elegant pictorial design of Ms. Haspel's beautiful dress: a lot of pretty lady hats punctuating and presiding over the multiple sinusoidal strands. Every strand is by itself but still woven together in the continuous moving waves, each capped by the modest, pretty, genuine little hat, bursting with zinger red bands - check-marks... Come up with your own interpretations, it would be hard to get wrong with them. Project, absorb, contemplate, analyse, compose, smile... - M.N.
Haspel: Intelligence panel 'pleased' with decision to expel 61 Russian ...
Washington Times-Feb 4, 2019
Haspel: Intelligence panel 'pleased' with decision to expel 61 ... impact” on Moscow's “ability to hurt us,” CIA Director Gina Haspel says.
Trump doesn't understand even the basics of national intelligence
Opinion-Los Angeles Times-Feb 4, 2019
Opinion-Los Angeles Times-Feb 4, 2019
Trump slams intel chiefs, says he doesn't have to agree with them
International-New York Post-Feb 3, 2019
International-New York Post-Feb 3, 2019
The Laundress, Gina Haspel, Stacey Abrams: Broadsheet January 30
Fortune-Jan 30, 2019
Top intelligence officials, including CIA Director Gina Haspel, contradicted key tenets of the Trump administration's foreign policy in testimony ...
CIA chief says Iran still 'technically' adhering to 2015 nuclear deal
The Times of Israel-Jan 29, 2019
Gina Haspel warns senators that Tehran 'considering taking steps' away from JCPOA to pressure Europeans to offer 'investment and trade ...
Intelligence chiefs' 'threat assessment' refutes Trump assertions
Washington Times-Jan 29, 2019
... greatest danger facing the nation, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, CIA Director Gina Haspel and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray ...
Trump claims his intel chiefs were 'misquoted' when they publicly ...
International-Politico-Jan 31, 2019
International-Politico-Jan 31, 2019
Vladimir Putin's State Of The Union Response
Read the whole story
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Russian-born lobbyist got "suspicious" payments right before and after June 2016 Trump Tower meeting Salon
Banks flagged “suspicious” payments to a Russian-born lobbyist named Rinat Akhmetshin, who attended the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, both ...
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Banks flagged “suspicious” payments to a Russian-born lobbyist named Rinat Akhmetshin, who attended the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, both before and after his meeting with Donald Trump Jr.. Paul Manaford and Jared Kushner, BuzzFeed News reported.
Documents reviewed by BuzzFeed News shows that Akhmetshin, a Washington lobbyist who previously served as a Soviet military officer and has been described by the New York Times as a “master of the dark arts,” made large round-number cash deposits in the months before and after the meeting. The meeting was set up after Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer linked to the Kremlin, offered the Trump campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton.
According to the report, bank investigators flagged a “suspicious” payment to Akhmetshin from Denis Katsyv, who runs Prevezon Holdings, a company accused by the Department of Justice of laundering money in a $230 million Russian tax fraud.
The documents show that Akhmetshin received a $100,000 wire transfer from Katsyv and $52,000 from a Katsyv-backed foundation. He also made a cash deposit of $40,000. Bank investigators flagged them as suspicious because of their unclear source, their overseas origin, and suspicions that Akhmetshin had violated federal lobbying laws, BuzzFeed News reported. Another $500,000 in payments from Katsyv’s foundation two months before the Trump Tower meeting was also flagged by Bank of America investigators as possible evidence of corruption and bribery.
Investigators also found that Akhmetshin received other large, unexplained wire transfers from companies overseas and from political insiders, “one of whom is a veteran Republican operator with ties to the Trump campaign,” the outlet reported.
Last month, Natalia Vesenitskaya, the Russian lawyer who brought Akhmetshin with her to the meeting, was indicted after prosecutors alleged that she secretly coordinated with the Kremlin while representing Katsyv in a money laundering case.
Katsyv funded a lobbying campaign by Veselnitskaya and Akhmetshin against the Magnitsky Act, which imposed sanctions on Russian officials connected to the tax fraud. Donald Trump Jr. told lawmakers that the primary topic the Russian attendees wanted to discuss at the Trump Tower meeting was the Magnitsky Act. The meeting was also attended by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and then-campaign chief Paul Manafort, who has since been convicted on numerous unrelated federal charges.
Special counsel Robert Mueller has also been looking at the meeting and has requested financial information on the attendees from banks. Mueller is also investigating Katsyv’s foundation, Bloombergreported. BuzzFeed News reported that Wells Fargo also gave documents about Akhmetshin to the Department of the Treasury, which were passed along to Mueller’s team. Congressional investigators have also asked for the Treasury documents.
Akhmetshin has downplayed his role at the meeting, telling a Senate committee that he coincidentally happened to be in New York to catch a play and showed up in a T-shirt and jeans after getting a last-minute invite from Veselnitskaya.
Another attendee, Ike Kaveladze, told the committee that the lobbyist showed up wearing “highly inappropriate” hot pink jeans and a hot pink shirt.
Despite that striking attire, Akhmetshin was the only person in the room for the meeting whom Donald Trump Jr. said he did not remember in his Senate testimony.
“As I mentioned in my statement, people have said there was an eighth person,” the president's eldest son testified. “I just can’t remember. … I’ve heard the name. I don’t recall now.”
Read the whole story
· ·
The intelligence community is “very pleased” with President Trump’s decision to expel 61 Russian intelligence officers last year, assessing the evictions had “tremendous impact” on Moscow’s “ability to hurt us,” CIA Director Gina Haspel says.
Ms. Haspel’s report to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Jan. 29 is one of a number of instances in which she and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats have dovetailed with the White House on policy issues.
The annual public hearing on “Worldwide Threats” brought headlines that the nation’s chief spies are at odds with their president. They testified that Iran continues to comply with the U.S.-brokered 2015 nuclear deal and that several thousand Islamic State terrorists still remain in Syria and Iraq.
Mr. Trump dumped the Obama-negotiated Iran agreement in May. He has announced a troop pullout from eastern Syria, where U.S. forces and Arab allies all but obliterated Islamic State conquerors.
Mr. Coats said it is “unlikely” North Koreans will give up their nukes as Mr. Trump tries to persuade them to do so.
But the intelligence panel’s testimony also featured Trump-intelligence fusion, including:
• The expulsion of Russian intelligence personnel and the closing of the Russian consulate in Seattle.
“There have been very severe sanctions placed on them,” Ms. Haspel testified. “I think, as an intelligence community, both [FBI] Director [Christopher] Wray and I were very pleased with the decision to expel 61 Russian intelligence officers that has a tremendous impact on their ability to hurt us in our own homeland.”
Their removal was the administration’s quick reaction to reports that the Kremlin poisoned former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury.
• The CIA did not oppose the Treasury Department’s decision in December to remove sanctions on three Russian companies tied to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Did the CIA raise any concerns about the Treasury plan?” asked Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican.
“No, I don’t believe we raised any concerns, but we provided all the supporting intelligence about the oligarch in question versus the aluminum company that you’re referring to,” Ms. Haspel answered.
Treasury removed the sanctions after all three companies agreed to diminish Mr. Deripaska’s role in them. U.S. economic sanctions on him remain. Critics accused the president of kowtowing to Mr. Putin.
• President Trump’s outreach to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has showed some results.
Mr. Kim is still pursing atomic weapons development despite his pledge to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. But since outreach to Washington began, he has stopped the destabilizing act of test-firing missiles and has decided to move in a new direction.
“I think our analysts would assess that they value the dialogue with the United States, and we do see indications that Kim Jong-un is trying to navigate a path toward some kind of better future for the North Korean people,” the CIA director said.
The White House has announced that Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump will hold a second summit at the end of February.
• Mr. Coats backed the White House position that Russia is in violation of the Cold War’s Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The Trump administration announced a treaty suspension last week, supported by all NATO members.
“We know Russia has violated the terms that treaty,” Mr. Coats testified.
• Ms. Haspel said that while Iran is in compliance with the nuclear deal, the Shiite-run government is discussing ways to violate restraints.
“I think the most recent information is the Iranians are considering taking steps that would lessen their adherence to [the nuclear deal] as they seek to pressure the Europeans to come through with the investment and trade benefits that Iran hoped to gain from the deal,” she said.
Mr. Coats said the deal did not produce the economic benefits Tehran expected.
The Trump administration, partly in a response to Iran’s terrorist expansion and actions in Yemen, Iraq Syria, and Lebanon, has renewed tough sanctions on Iran and urged European allies to fall in line.
Mr. Trump lashed out at the intelligence community the day after their testimony.
“The Intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran,” he tweeted. “They are wrong! When I became President Iran was making trouble all over the Middle East, and beyond. Since ending the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal, they are MUCH different “
National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have coached the president to appreciate his intelligence products and avoid such criticism.
A bit alarmed, the White House sought to calm the storm. It released an Oval Office photograph of Ms. Haspel, Mr. Coats and a senior analyst who visited to deliver the top secret Presidential Daily Brief (PDB).
Mr. Trump then tweeted: “Just concluded a great meeting with my Intel team in the Oval Office who told me that what they said on Tuesday at the Senate Hearing was mischaracterized by the media — and we are very much in agreement on Iran, ISIS, North Korea, etc. Their testimony was distorted press.”
The Washington Times Comment Policy
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Haspel: Intelligence panel 'pleased' with decision to expel 61 Russian ...
Washington Times-Feb 4, 2019
Haspel: Intelligence panel 'pleased' with decision to expel 61 ... impact” on Moscow's “ability to hurt us,” CIA Director Gina Haspel says.
Trump doesn't understand even the basics of national intelligence
Opinion-Los Angeles Times-Feb 4, 2019
Opinion-Los Angeles Times-Feb 4, 2019
Trump slams intel chiefs, says he doesn't have to agree with them
International-New York Post-Feb 3, 2019
International-New York Post-Feb 3, 2019
The Laundress, Gina Haspel, Stacey Abrams: Broadsheet January 30
Fortune-Jan 30, 2019
Top intelligence officials, including CIA Director Gina Haspel, contradicted key tenets of the Trump administration's foreign policy in testimony ...
CIA chief says Iran still 'technically' adhering to 2015 nuclear deal
The Times of Israel-Jan 29, 2019
Gina Haspel warns senators that Tehran 'considering taking steps' away from JCPOA to pressure Europeans to offer 'investment and trade ...
Intelligence chiefs' 'threat assessment' refutes Trump assertions
Washington Times-Jan 29, 2019
... greatest danger facing the nation, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, CIA Director Gina Haspel and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray ...
Trump claims his intel chiefs were 'misquoted' when they publicly ...
International-Politico-Jan 31, 2019
International-Politico-Jan 31, 2019
Read the whole story
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It is important to repeat that there was no “Russian interference” in the 2016 elections. It was invented by the DNC, Hillary’s campaign, and the Obama administration. The so-called Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), a declassified version of which was published on Jan. 6, 2017, was cooked under the control of James Clapper with the collaboration of John Brennan and James Comey.
The alleged interference contained two internet components. The big one was hacking. Podesta’s email account and the DNC and DCCC networks were indeed hacked. The DNC network was hacked many times. In April 2016, when Trump emerged as the expected Republican nominee, the DNC and the Obama administration started a joint attempt to spy on his campaign. In late April, the DNC suddenly “discovered” the hacking of its network, which it had been denying for at least nine months in response to the FBI’s warnings. Instead of fixing it using its own network administrators or hiring a reputable cybersecurity contractor, they hired CrowdStrike, known for making unsubstantiated claimsattributing network breaches to Russian and Chinese intelligence, and CrowdStrike incorrectly attributed the hack to Russian intelligence. For more than a month, the DNC then allowed what they thought was Russian intelligence to collect data from its network, while simultaneously rebuffing the FBI’s requests to help or to collect forensic evidence. The DNC probably intended to leak some of the collected data to the Trump campaign and then accuse Trump of colluding with Russia. The Democrats' thinking and internal activities were accidentally revealed in recent books by their allies.
The DNC also asked the Ukrainian government to "investigate" Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. The FBI apparently took part in that investigation. In June 2016, the FBI signed an evidence-sharing agreement with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, and within two months a NY Times headlines announced that “Secret Ledger in Ukraine Lists Cash for Donald Trump’s Campaign Chief.” (Later, that ledger was called a forgery. And a couple of months ago, a Ukrainian court ruled that those NACB activities were meddling in the U.S. elections.)
But the hacking/leaking part of the scheme failed. The DNC's dirty laundry was published by WikiLeakswithout the participation of either the Russian government or the Trump campaign. The DNC decided to blame Russia and Trump anyway. Through CrowdStrike, the DNC gave the FBI whatever data and information supported its false attribution, and then it destroyed the remaining forensic evidence on June 10-11 (CrowdStrike called that “expelling the intruder,” but a third-party description of the results of that activity is more consistent with the destruction of evidence hypothesis). Then the DNC had Steele insert the allegation of Russian intel hacking in collusion with Trump into his “report”: "TRUMP associate admits Kremlin behind recent appearance of DNC e-mails on WikiLeaks, as means of maintaining plausible deniability". The FBI was receiving Steele “reports” from July 5.
The second and smaller component of the alleged Russian interference was purported IRA (a St. Petersburg troll farm) activity on social media. It mostly consisted of a purchase of $100k of Facebook ads. Sounds like chump change for Russian intelligence. Worse, about half these ads ran after the elections. Almost all the other ads ran more than four months before the elections and not in the battleground states. But the biggest mistake that Ivan made was paying for the ads in rubles!
Can any sane person believe that this was part of a Russian intelligence operation? The congressional Democrats believe it. The MSM believes it. All this is nonsense, but Democrats use this nonsense to pressure Google, Facebook, and Twitter to deplatform conservatives, and analysis of “Russian social media activity” became a cottage industry.
Many people who don’t believe in any Trump/Russia collusion still believe in the Russian interference from which Trump benefitted. Because this position is only half-true, it is hard to defend. Trump correctly rejected the DNC allegations that it had been hacked by the Russian state. Since July 2016, Trump has been correctly saying that the hacker might be a “400-pound person” and pointing out the FBI’s failure to visit the crime scene -- the DNC -- or to collect forensic evidence from its network (more than one server).
After the Trump-Putin summit, sabotaged by Mueller’s indictment of the alleged GRU, the bloodthirsty MSM whipped up a frenzy in which Democrats and RINOs forced Trump to backpedal on the alleged “Russian interference.” Eppur si muove.
Putin didn’t have reason to aid Trump or to harm Hillary. Any Democrat was better for Putin than any Republican. Putin didn’t have any grudge against Hillary for anything that happened in 2010-2011. On the other hand, there was no sympathy between Putin and Trump. Hillary was expected to win anyway, and she is vengeful. Any attempt to harm Hillary would have cost Putin and Russia a lot.
So if one believes that Putin interfered in the 2016 elections to aid Trump and to harm Hillary, as the ICA claims, collusion is the most natural explanation. There is no evidence of collusion. To a believer, that suggests that the collusion was sophisticated, making it more sinister. The explanation that the alleged Russian interference was aimed “to sow division” is not convincing, and it still undermines Trump because the Left have projected onto Trump their own actions.
National cybersecurity is the biggest casualty of the Russian interference conspiracy theory. To support the Russian interference hoax, the FBI, CIA, DHS, and ODNI had to accept false CrowdStrike-style attribution of hacking incidents to imaginary state-sponsored threat groups. The tech industry, having embraced “the resistance” and seeing more money in misattributing hacking incidents performed by individuals to powerful state actors, used the ICA as justification for that. Since 2015, Google Capital led or participated in three investment rounds, providing CrowdStrike $400M. Microsoft has its Defending Democracy program, which both raises alarm about the “Russian interference” myth and rates fake news media as credible.
Obviously, the incorrect attribution of network breaches leads to incorrect solutions, just as an incorrect medical diagnosis leads to the wrong treatment. All that leaves U.S. cyberspace defenseless. Even discussing how to protect it is hard, in part because any practical measures for protection would interfere with Big Tech’s open borders business model.
The real technical cybersecurity community, to which I once belonged, concurs that there is no evidence that the DNC hacking was done by Russia, but those people must keep their mouths shut. Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, and Apple have created a totalitarian dystopia: they know everything about everybody in the tech industry, and they can put any software or internet company out of business faster than one spells “InfoWars.”
The “Russian interference narrative” is also used to suppress and smear conservatives speaking through social media, sometimes by labeling us Russian bots. Democratic leadership encourages that behavior.
Leo Goldstein is a veteran of the computer software and internet industry. His website has more original information and analysis on cyber-security, the DNC leaks, and Mueller investigation.
It is important to repeat that there was no “Russian interference” in the 2016 elections. It was invented by the DNC, Hillary’s campaign, and the Obama administration. The so-called Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), a declassified version of which was published on Jan. 6, 2017, was cooked under the control of James Clapper with the collaboration of John Brennan and James Comey.
The alleged interference contained two internet components. The big one was hacking. Podesta’s email account and the DNC and DCCC networks were indeed hacked. The DNC network was hacked many times. In April 2016, when Trump emerged as the expected Republican nominee, the DNC and the Obama administration started a joint attempt to spy on his campaign. In late April, the DNC suddenly “discovered” the hacking of its network, which it had been denying for at least nine months in response to the FBI’s warnings. Instead of fixing it using its own network administrators or hiring a reputable cybersecurity contractor, they hired CrowdStrike, known for making unsubstantiated claimsattributing network breaches to Russian and Chinese intelligence, and CrowdStrike incorrectly attributed the hack to Russian intelligence. For more than a month, the DNC then allowed what they thought was Russian intelligence to collect data from its network, while simultaneously rebuffing the FBI’s requests to help or to collect forensic evidence. The DNC probably intended to leak some of the collected data to the Trump campaign and then accuse Trump of colluding with Russia. The Democrats' thinking and internal activities were accidentally revealed in recent books by their allies.
The DNC also asked the Ukrainian government to "investigate" Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. The FBI apparently took part in that investigation. In June 2016, the FBI signed an evidence-sharing agreement with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, and within two months a NY Times headlines announced that “Secret Ledger in Ukraine Lists Cash for Donald Trump’s Campaign Chief.” (Later, that ledger was called a forgery. And a couple of months ago, a Ukrainian court ruled that those NACB activities were meddling in the U.S. elections.)
But the hacking/leaking part of the scheme failed. The DNC's dirty laundry was published by WikiLeakswithout the participation of either the Russian government or the Trump campaign. The DNC decided to blame Russia and Trump anyway. Through CrowdStrike, the DNC gave the FBI whatever data and information supported its false attribution, and then it destroyed the remaining forensic evidence on June 10-11 (CrowdStrike called that “expelling the intruder,” but a third-party description of the results of that activity is more consistent with the destruction of evidence hypothesis). Then the DNC had Steele insert the allegation of Russian intel hacking in collusion with Trump into his “report”: "TRUMP associate admits Kremlin behind recent appearance of DNC e-mails on WikiLeaks, as means of maintaining plausible deniability". The FBI was receiving Steele “reports” from July 5.
The second and smaller component of the alleged Russian interference was purported IRA (a St. Petersburg troll farm) activity on social media. It mostly consisted of a purchase of $100k of Facebook ads. Sounds like chump change for Russian intelligence. Worse, about half these ads ran after the elections. Almost all the other ads ran more than four months before the elections and not in the battleground states. But the biggest mistake that Ivan made was paying for the ads in rubles!
Can any sane person believe that this was part of a Russian intelligence operation? The congressional Democrats believe it. The MSM believes it. All this is nonsense, but Democrats use this nonsense to pressure Google, Facebook, and Twitter to deplatform conservatives, and analysis of “Russian social media activity” became a cottage industry.
Many people who don’t believe in any Trump/Russia collusion still believe in the Russian interference from which Trump benefitted. Because this position is only half-true, it is hard to defend. Trump correctly rejected the DNC allegations that it had been hacked by the Russian state. Since July 2016, Trump has been correctly saying that the hacker might be a “400-pound person” and pointing out the FBI’s failure to visit the crime scene -- the DNC -- or to collect forensic evidence from its network (more than one server).
After the Trump-Putin summit, sabotaged by Mueller’s indictment of the alleged GRU, the bloodthirsty MSM whipped up a frenzy in which Democrats and RINOs forced Trump to backpedal on the alleged “Russian interference.” Eppur si muove.
Putin didn’t have reason to aid Trump or to harm Hillary. Any Democrat was better for Putin than any Republican. Putin didn’t have any grudge against Hillary for anything that happened in 2010-2011. On the other hand, there was no sympathy between Putin and Trump. Hillary was expected to win anyway, and she is vengeful. Any attempt to harm Hillary would have cost Putin and Russia a lot.
So if one believes that Putin interfered in the 2016 elections to aid Trump and to harm Hillary, as the ICA claims, collusion is the most natural explanation. There is no evidence of collusion. To a believer, that suggests that the collusion was sophisticated, making it more sinister. The explanation that the alleged Russian interference was aimed “to sow division” is not convincing, and it still undermines Trump because the Left have projected onto Trump their own actions.
National cybersecurity is the biggest casualty of the Russian interference conspiracy theory. To support the Russian interference hoax, the FBI, CIA, DHS, and ODNI had to accept false CrowdStrike-style attribution of hacking incidents to imaginary state-sponsored threat groups. The tech industry, having embraced “the resistance” and seeing more money in misattributing hacking incidents performed by individuals to powerful state actors, used the ICA as justification for that. Since 2015, Google Capital led or participated in three investment rounds, providing CrowdStrike $400M. Microsoft has its Defending Democracy program, which both raises alarm about the “Russian interference” myth and rates fake news media as credible.
Obviously, the incorrect attribution of network breaches leads to incorrect solutions, just as an incorrect medical diagnosis leads to the wrong treatment. All that leaves U.S. cyberspace defenseless. Even discussing how to protect it is hard, in part because any practical measures for protection would interfere with Big Tech’s open borders business model.
The real technical cybersecurity community, to which I once belonged, concurs that there is no evidence that the DNC hacking was done by Russia, but those people must keep their mouths shut. Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, and Apple have created a totalitarian dystopia: they know everything about everybody in the tech industry, and they can put any software or internet company out of business faster than one spells “InfoWars.”
The “Russian interference narrative” is also used to suppress and smear conservatives speaking through social media, sometimes by labeling us Russian bots. Democratic leadership encourages that behavior.
Leo Goldstein is a veteran of the computer software and internet industry. His website has more original information and analysis on cyber-security, the DNC leaks, and Mueller investigation.
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Vladimir Putin's State Of The Union Response
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