Tag: Russia

Posted on

Putin Announces He Will Not Expel US Diplomats From Russia – Yet

CNN is reporting that Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced he will not dispatch American diplomats from Russia as a response to yesterday’s similar move by the Obama administration over cyber-hacking during the recent presidential election.

Putin said he would not pursue “irresponsible diplomacy” and would instead attempt to rebuild relations with Washington after the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

However, Putin said that Russia reserved the right to respond to the new US sanctions, which included the expulsion of 35 diplomats from the US. The Obama administration said the measures were in response to allegations that Russia had meddled in the 2016 US presidential election.

“Further steps towards the restoration of Russian-American relations will be built on the basis of the policies carried out by the administration of President Trump,” a Kremlin statement said.

Putin reportedly told Sputnik: “We will not create problems for American diplomats. We will not send anyone away. We will not prohibit their families and children to use for their usual vacation spots in the New Year’s holidays.”

Posted on

Donald Trump Responds To News Of Sanctions Against Russia For Cyber-Hacking During Election

Statement from President-elect Donald J. Trump regarding today’s announced sanctions by the U.S. government against Russia for cyber-attacks during the recent presidential election:

“It’s time for our country to move on to bigger and better things.

“Nevertheless, in the interest of our country and it’s great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation.”

A couple of thoughts here:

1. The “time to move on” line sounds like Trump is so very afraid to admit he didn’t win the White House on his own. Pal, you get the White House. No one is taking it from you at this point. Chill.

2. Line 2’s “in the interest of our country” seems like he’s doing us a favor by doing his job. In light of all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies agreeing with certainty that Russia did indeed interfere with our election, he should at least appear to be concerned about this issue.

Also, saying he will meet with intelligence leaders next week in order to be “updated on the facts” sure seems like his not informed on the issue. Can you imagine President Reagan saying “I’ll get to the Russians hacking our systems some time next week….?”

Posted on

Obama Announces Tough Sanctions Against Russia For Elections Interference

President Obama issued a statement today announcing several actions to be taken against the Russian government for cyber-activity intended to interfere in the recent U.S. elections.

From his statement:

Today, I have ordered a number of actions in response to the Russian government’s aggressive harassment of U.S. officials and cyber operations aimed at the U.S. election. These actions follow repeated private and public warnings that we have issued to the Russian government, and are a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm U.S. interests in violation of established international norms of behavior.

All Americans should be alarmed by Russia’s actions. In October, my Administration publicized our assessment that Russia took actions intended to interfere with the U.S. election process. These data theft and disclosure activities could only have been directed by the highest levels of the Russian government. Moreover, our diplomats have experienced an unacceptable level of harassment in Moscow by Russian security services and police over the last year. Such activities have consequences. Today, I have ordered a number of actions in response.

The list of actions include (via NBC News):

• Shutting down two compounds, one in in Maryland and one in New York, “used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes.”

• Sanctions against the Russian intelligence services GRU and FSB, and four high-ranking officers of the GRU. The sanctions are also aimed at two suspected hackers, including one wanted by the FBI in two other cases, and three companies that allegedly provided support to the GRU’s cyber operations.

• Releasing technical information about Russian cyber activity, “to help network defenders in the United States and abroad identify, detect, and disrupt Russia’s global campaign of malicious cyber activities.”

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued a declassified report offering some specifics regarding the Russian involvement in what those agencies now call “malicious cyber activity.”

President Obama also indicated that there may be more covert actions taken. “These actions are not the sum total of our response to Russia’s aggressive activities,” Obama said. “We will continue to take a variety of actions at a time and place of our choosing, some of which will not be publicized.”

Several members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have called for strenuous investigations into Russia’s involvement including Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham.

On the other end of the spectrum, President-elect Donald Trump says we shouldn’t bother looking into Russia’s interference in U.S. elections.

Speaking to reporters at his Florida home yesterday if the United States should sanction Russia, Trump had this to say: “I think we ought to get on with our lives. I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly. The whole age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly what’s going on.”

The sanctions put into place today could be reversed by Trump once he takes office, but to do so would put him in a position of defending Russia and possibly signal that he doesn’t have confidence in the U.S.’s 17 intelligence agencies who all agree that Russia was involved.

Russia has consistently denied any involvement in the cyber-hacking activities.

Posted on

FBI Director Now Supports CIA Position That Russia Interfered In US Election To Help Trump

FBI Director James Comey

The FBI now supports the findings by the CIA that the Russian government interfered in the U.S. presidential election to throw the win to Donald Trump.

From The Washington Post:

FBI Director James B. Comey and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. have backed a CIA assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election in part to help Donald Trump win the presidency, according to U.S. officials.

Comey’s support for the CIA’s conclusion suggests that the leaders of the three agencies are in agreement on Russian intentions, contrary to suggestions by some lawmakers that the FBI disagreed with the CIA.

“Earlier this week, I met separately with (Director) FBI James Comey and DNI Jim Clapper, and there is strong consensus among us on the scope, nature, and intent of Russian interference in our presidential election,” CIA Director John Brennan said in a message to the agency’s workforce, according to U.S. officials who have seen the message.

“The three of us also agree that our organizations, along with others, need to focus on completing the thorough review of this issue that has been directed by President Obama and which is being led by the DNI,” Brennan’s message read.

Posted on

Hillary Clinton: Putin Targeted My Presidential Run Because “He Has A Personal Beef With Me”

Speaking to a group of donors in New York City yesterday, Hillary Clinton acknowledged the effect Russian cyber-hacking had on her campaign saying Russian President Putin targeted her “because he has a personal beef against me.”

Via the New York Times:

“Putin publicly blamed me for the outpouring of outrage by his own people, and that is the direct line between what he said back then and what he did in this election,” Mrs. Clinton said.

It is the first time Mrs. Clinton has publicly addressed the impact of the hacks since the intelligence community concluded that they were specifically aimed at harming her campaign.

“Make no mistake, as the press is finally catching up to the facts, which we desperately tried to present to them during the last months of the campaign,” Mrs. Clinton told the group, which collectively poured roughly $1 billion into her effort. “This is not just an attack on me and my campaign, although that may have added fuel to it. This is an attack against our country. We are well beyond normal political concerns here. This is about the integrity of our democracy and the security of our nation.”

In her remarks, she endorsed the proposal of a bipartisan group of senators to investigate the hacking and said the inquiry should be modeled on the commission set up after the Sept. 11 attacks. “The public deserves to know exactly what happened, and why, in order for us to prevent future attacks on our systems, including our electoral system,” she said.

Mrs. Clinton said the hacking was one of two “unprecedented” events that led to her defeat. The other was the release of a letter by James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, shortly before the election disclosing new questions about emails handled by her private server. The letter, she said, cost her close races in several battleground states.

“Swing-state voters made their decisions in the final days breaking against me because of the F.B.I. letter from Director Comey,” she said.

I agree with Hillary 100% on the two “events.” While the trickle-out of the DNC email hacking had a slow burn effect, Comey’s letter at the end was like a surgical coup de grâce which sliced off just the right degree of swing voters at the end of the race.

Posted on

Obama On Russian Hacking: ‘We Need To Take Action. And We Will’

Speaking to NPR, President Barack Obama said that the U.S. will take action against Russia for cyber-hacking activity meant “to impact the integrity” of the 2016 presidential elections.

From Politico:

“I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action,” the president told NPR. “And we will at a time and place of our own choosing.”

Without providing further specifics, the president said some U.S. actions may be “explicit and publicized” while others “may not be.”

The Obama administration has repeatedly condemned Russian hacks of American computer systems during the election, but Obama’s comments Thursday serve as the harshest public rebuke yet. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday that the U.S. would deliver a “proportional” response to any Russian hacking.

The president also added that he had made his thoughts on the matter clear to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

“Mr. Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it,” Obama said.

The Kremlin denied reports Thursday that Putin had been “personally involved in the covert Russian campaign.” And on Friday, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesman called the U.S. accusations “unseemly.”

Posted on

White House: Donald Trump Was “Obviously Aware” Of Russia’s Meddling In Presidential Election

From CNN:

President-elect Donald Trump was “obviously aware” that Russia meddled in the US election to benefit his own campaign, the White House said Wednesday.

Citing Trump’s own suggestion over the summer that Moscow locate missing emails from Hillary Clinton’s private server, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the beneficiary of Russia’s cyberintrusions was clear.

“There was ample evidence that was known long before the election, and in most cases long before October, about the Trump campaign in Russia, everything from the Republican nominee himself calling on Russia to hack his opponent,” Earnest said. “It might be an indication that he was obviously aware and concluded, based on whatever facts or sources he had available to him, that Russia was involved and their involvement was having a negative impact on his opponent’s campaign.”

Earnest was speaking as the extent of Russia’s interference in the US election is coming into clearer focus. The CIA has told a group of top US senators that Russia’s hacking was aimed at helping Trump, a finding that’s caused angst among some Democrats, who believe the White House should have provided more details about the hacking ahead of the election.

It’s pretty ludicrous that Trump would spend so much time talking about the election being “rigged” against him, and then pretend that he had no idea the hacking and maneuvering that went on by the Russians was all to help his campaign.

It’s no wonder everyone was surprised at the outcome. We all had no idea the depth of foreign intervention that was going on.

Posted on

Fireworks On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” As Congressman Rohrabacher Defends Russia

Wow, this gets heated and fast once pro-Russian California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher takes the stage on this morning’s “Morning Joe.”

From Mediaite:

The interview immediately turned contentious when host Joe Scarborough started by asking Rohrabacher why the United States was doing nothing while Russia and Syria slaughtered the Syrian people. “Well that’s a question that’s based on false premises,” Rohrabacher replied.

“No it’s not! No it’s not!” insisted Scarborough. After a few rounds of shouting over each other, Rohrabacher threatened to bail on the interview. “Are you going to let me answer? Goodbye!” he said, beginning to take out his earbud. “Goodbye, if you’re not going to let me say anything, it’s goodbye!”