Tag: Russia

Secretive Russian GRU tests Trump with brazen tactics

Russia’s secretive military intelligence agency, the GRU, is testing the limits of Western countries with its aggressive tactics and bold operations, prompting action from the Trump administration and some European allies as they seek to counter its behavior.

The Trump administration has sanctioned several GRU officers for launching cyberattacks and has expelled dozens of suspected Russian intelligence officers operating in the U.S. in response to the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy in England this year.

The effort to thwart the GRU is part of a broader push by the U.S. government to take a firm stance against Russian aggression, one that has at times been overshadowed by President Trump’s contradictory statements about Russian interference in the 2016 election and his overtures to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

View the complete article by Morgan Chalfant posted September 12, 2018 on the Hill website here.

U.S. officials suspect Russia in mystery ‘attacks’ on diplomats in Cuba, China

The following article by Josh Lederman, Courtney Kube, Abigail WIlliams and Ken Dilanian was posted on the NBC News website September 11, 2018:

The strong suspicion that Russia was behind the alleged attacks is backed by signals intelligence, meaning intercepted communications, say U.S. officials.

WASHINGTON — Intelligence agencies investigating mysterious “attacks” that led to brain injuries in U.S. personnel in Cuba and China consider Russia to be the main suspect, three U.S. officials and two others briefed on the investigation tell NBC News.

The suspicion that Russia is likely behind the alleged attacks is backed up by evidence from communications intercepts, known in the spy world as signals intelligence, amassed during a lengthy and ongoing investigation involving the FBI, the CIA and other U.S. agencies. The officials declined to elaborate on the nature of the intelligence.

The evidence is not yet conclusive enough, however, for the U.S. to formally assign blame to Moscow for incidents that started in late 2016 and have continued in 2018, causing a major rupture in U.S.-Cuba relations.

More

GOP bails on pledge not to use stolen emails to attack opponents

The following article by Eric Boehlert was posted on the ShareBlue.com website September 7, 2018:

Republicans refuse to rule out help from Russians.

Republicans blew up long-running negotiations with Democrats this week, after both sides worked quietly for months to come to a bipartisan agreement not to use hacked or stolen information in the upcoming campaign season.

In a proposal that had been on the table, both parties agreed not to help any hacking efforts and not to search out hacked or stolen materials, and they also agreed to report any contacts with foreign operatives to law enforcement.

The GOP’s decision to abruptly end talks “only fed the complaint by Democrats that Republican lawmakers have resisted bridging partisan divisions in the two years since Russia began its brazen attack on the American political system,” the New York Times reported.

View the complete article here.

Dems Want to Know If Bolton Told White House About Contact With Alleged Spy

The following article by Stephanie Akin was posted on the Roll Call website August 20, 2018:

National security adviser appeared with Butina at gun rights roundtable when he worked for NRA

National Security Adviser John Bolton reportedly appeared with alleged Russian spy Maria Butina when he was a top official with the National Rifle Association. Credit: Mark Wilson, Getty Images file photo

Top Democrats on the House Oversight Committee want to know if National Security Adviser John Bolton told the White House about his reported contact with alleged Russian spy Maria Butina before he was appointed by President Trump.

Bolton appeared with Butina in a video roundtable discussion about gun rights, reportedly sponsored by the Russian organization Right to Bear Arms, in his previous position as a top National Rifle Association official, Democrats Elijah Cummings and Stephen Lynch wrote in a letter to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly delivered Monday.

Butina was charged in July by federal prosecutors with infiltrating the National Rifle Association and spying on the United States.

View the complete article here.

On Fox News, Robert Mueller is often a bigger bogeyman than Vladimir Putin

The following article by JM Rieger was posted on the Washington Post website August 15, 2018:

Some Fox News pundits now say special counsel Robert S. Mueller III represents a bigger threat to the United States than Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Some Fox News pundits now say an ex-Marine Corps officer is more dangerous than an ex-KGB officer. (JM Rieger/The Washington Post)

When conservative radio host Mark Levin appeared on Fox News’ “Hannity” last week to discuss the latest in the Russia investigation, he ended up baffling even some of his most conservative allies.

“Robert Mueller is a greater threat to this republic and the Constitution than anything Vladimir Putin did during the campaign,” Levin said. “And I am no fan of Vladimir Putin.”

While bringing up a basket of old claims about the Mueller investigation, Levin did not say specifically what made Mueller a larger threat than Putin.

View the complete article here.

Trump Won’t Follow Congressional Directives on Russia and Crimea

The following article by Niels Lesniewski was posted on the Roll Call website August 14, 2018:

Defense authorization signing statement effectively discards restrictions on recognizing Crimea as Russian

Alexander Zemlianichenko, File, AP

President Donald Trump objects to an effort by Congress to prevent his administration from recognizing Crimea as part of Russia.

Crimea is a region in Ukraine that has been occupied by Russia for several years, with the Russian Federation having claimed to have annexed the region in March 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed the territorial matter is settled, but many in Washington disagree.

Language in the fiscal 2019 defense authorization, which Trump signed into law Monday during a ceremony at Fort Drum in upstate New York, purported to impose a funding blockade on the Pentagon acting on recognition of Crimea as part of Russia.

View the complete article here.

‘A natural’: Donald Trump Jr. emerges as a campaign star, despite Russia baggage

The following article by Ashley Parker and Philip Rucker was posted on the Washington Post website August 12, 2018:

Donald Trump Jr. addresses a standing-room-only crowd at a campaign rally for Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis in Orlando last month. Credit: Willie J. Allen Jr., The Washington Post

President Trump was watching Fox News Channel with aides in his private dining room off the Oval Office recently when Donald Trump Jr. flashed across the giant flat screen.

“Don’s gotten really good,” Trump said, according to someone who was present. “My people love him.”

The remark suggested a swell of unexpected pride from Trump about his namesake son, whose relationship with his father has been difficult at times but who has emerged as the president’s political alter ego and an in-demand campaign celebrity ahead of November’s midterm elections.

View the complete article here.

Want to Know More About … the Mueller Investigation

John Berman: “This May Be The Last Best Chance For President Trump To Get Face To Face With Robert Muller, At Least According To Rudy Giuliani.”

JOHN BERMAN: “This may be the last best chance for President Trump to get face to face with Robert Muller, at least according to Rudy Giuliani. The Trump legal team has submitted this new offer of terms to the special counsel on just how the president would be willing to answer questions in the Russian investigation. “ [New Day, CNN, 8/9/18;Video]

John Berman: “For A Man That Is No Stranger To High Profile Interviews, This Really Could Be The Highest Stakes Yet For The President If It Ever Happens Which Is Honestly A Major Doubt. What His Team Is Mostly Concerned About Is The President Could Get Caught Lying.”

JOHN BERMAN: “For a man that is no stranger to high profile interviews, this really could be the highest stakes yet for the president if it ever happens which is honestly a major doubt. What his team is mostly concerned about is the president could get caught lying. They want to limit the scope of questions as much as humanly possible to avoid what they call a perjury trap. Giuliani says the investigation he wants it to end in the next three weeks, that Mueller has all the information he needs but if the probe drags on till November, Giuliani they says that Republicans will be the ones to benefit politically that’s his claim.” [New Day, CNN, 8/9/18; Video] Continue reading “Want to Know More About … the Mueller Investigation”

Fund for Trump aides drawn into Russia investigation raises $200,000

The following article by Anu Narayanswamy and Michelle Ye Hee Lee was posted on the Washington Post website August 6, 2018:

Pres. Trump speaks during a rally Saturday in Ohio. Credit: John Minchillo AP

A fund set up to help pay legal expenses incurred by aides to President Trump drawn into the Russia investigation raised about $200,000 in four months, with most of the money coming from some of the president’s most prolific donors, according to documents filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

The largest check came from longtime friend Geoffrey Palmer, a California real estate developer, who donated $100,000, according to the filing, which was submitted to the IRS in July and provided to The Washington Post by the fund Monday. Palmer also has given to America First Action, a super PAC supporting Trump’s legislative agenda.

Other donors included casino businessman Phillip Ruffin, who gave $50,000. Continental Resources, an oil company headed by another longtime supporter, Harold Hamm, gave $25,000.

View the complete article here.

Sen. Rand Paul Invites Top Russians to U.S. as They Claim No Election Interference

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website August 6, 2018:

‘We all do it,’ Kentucky Republican has said of election interference

Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY., invited top Russian government officials to the US later this year. Credit: Bill Clark, CQ Roll Call file photo

Sen. Rand Paul invited top Russian government officials to visit the U.S. later this year to continue a dialogue on important national security issues, he announced Monday.

The Kentucky Republican, who is leading a legislative delegation in the country this week, met with Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the Russian Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs. That committee is the Russian equivalent of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee that Paul sits on.

“Engagement is vital to our national security and peace around the world,” Paul said in a statement.

View the complete article here.