Tag: Russian election meddling

Democrats Warn of Possible Foreign Disinformation Plot Targeting Congress

New York Times logoDemocrats demanded an F.B.I. briefing. They were concerned about a potential Russian-linked effort to interfere in the election by using a Senate panel to advance smears against Joe Biden, officials said.

Top congressional Democrats warned in a cryptic letter they released on Monday that a foreign power was using disinformation to try to interfere in the presidential election and the activities of Congress, and demanded a prompt briefing by the F.B.I. to warn every member of Congress.

While the letter writers, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, did not specify the threat, officials familiar with a classified addendum attached to it said the Democrats’ concerns touched on intelligence related to a possible Russian-backed attempt to smear the presidential campaign of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

They contend that the Russian-linked information is being funneled to a committee headed by Senator Ron Johnson, the Wisconsin Republican who is investigating Mr. Biden and his son, who was once paid as a board member of a Ukrainian energy company. While neither Mr. Johnson’s inquiry nor much of the information in question is new, the Democrats’ letter is an attempt to call attention to their concern that the accusations are not only unfounded but may further Russia’s efforts to interfere again in the American presidential election. Continue reading.

Supreme Court to hear dispute over Democrats’ access to Mueller materials

The Hill logoThe Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to take up the dispute over House Democrats’ access to redacted grand jury materials from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.

The court is expected to hear the case in its next term, which begins in October, meaning any newly redacted material would likely not be made public until after the November elections.

The decision to grant the appeal means at least four of the court’s nine justices agreed to hear the dispute, with a decision due by the end of the court’s term in June 2021. Continue reading.

‘Not A Hoax’: Mueller Rebuts Trump’s Big Lie About Russian Meddling

Special counsel Robert Mueller testified to the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday that Russia’s attack on the American election in 2016 was “not a hoax,” a direct rebuke to Trump.

“Would you agree that it was not a hoax that the Russians were engaged in trying to impact our election?” Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) asked Mueller at the hearing.

“Absolutely, it was not a hoax,” Mueller replied. “The indictments that we returned against the Russians — two different ones — were substantial in their scope.”

View the complete July 24 article by Oliver Willis on the National Memo website here.

Mueller sounds alarm on Russian meddling. So what has Congress done about it?

Russian interference is ‘among the most serious’ challenges to American democracy, ex-special counsel says

Former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s testimony before two House committees Wednesday brought a new focus on foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election, and highlighted what has — and has not — been done to prevent a recurrence in the next election less than 16 months away.

Mueller, who led the FBI in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, told both the House Judiciary and Intelligence panels that among the challenges to democracy he’s seen in his career, “the Russian government’s effort to interfere in our election is among the most serious.”

“Much more needs to be done in order to protect against this,” he told House Intelligence members.

View the complete July 25 article by Bridget Bowman on The Roll Call website here.

Report: Snowflake Trump Won’t Discuss Russian Election Meddling

Although special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation found that the 2016 Trump campaign’s interactions with Russians did not rise to the level of a criminal conspiracy, Mueller’s final report left no doubt that Russian government operatives went to great lengths to interfere in that presidential election. And cybersecurity experts are warning that Russian interference in the 2020 presidential election could also be a major problem for the United States.

But journalist Eric Lutz, in an article published by Vanity Fair this week, reports that President Trump’s hypersensitivity on this subject and his “fragile ego” are getting in the way of efforts to protect U.S. elections from Russian interference. Continue reading “Report: Snowflake Trump Won’t Discuss Russian Election Meddling”

Do Americans think Mueller’s probe is a witch hunt? Depends on how you ask.

Dissecting why a new poll finds more skepticism about the probe than others

On Monday, President Trump tweeted about a new survey finding released earlier in the day. He said that a poll found that “50% of Americans AGREE that Robert Mueller’s investigation is a Witch Hunt.” That claim is in line with the USA Today report. But a close look at the survey and other recent polling suggests it may overstate the public’s skepticism of the Mueller probe.

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

Wow! A Suffolk/USA Today Poll, just out, states, “50% of Americans AGREE that Robert Mueller’s investigation is a Witch Hunt.” @MSNBC Very few think it is legit! We will soon find out?

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Here’s how the question was asked: “President Trump has called the Special Counsel’s investigation a ‘witch hunt’ and said he’s been subjected to more investigations than previous presidents because of politics. Do you agree?”

There are a lot of ways to ask a question such as this, and it’s useful to measure whether Americans share Trump’s skepticism of the Mueller investigation. But this question and its interpretation skirt a couple of best practices for opinion-poll question wording, as highlighted by Monmouth University Polling Institute director Patrick Murray in several tweets.

View the complete March 18 article by Emily Guskin and Scott Clement on The Washington Post website here.

Senate Intelligence Heads Warn That Russian Election Meddling Continues

The following article by Nicholas Fandos was posted on the New York Times website October 4, 2017:

Senators Richard M. Burr, left, the intelligence committee’s chairman, and Mark Warner, its vice chairman, held the most extensive news conference since the committee began its investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Credit Pete Marovich for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee delivered a stark warning on Wednesday to political candidates: Expect Russian operatives to remain active and determined to again try to sow chaos in elections next month and next year.

At a rare news conference, Senators Richard M. Burr, Republican of North Carolina and the committee’s chairman, and Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia and its vice chairman, broadly endorsed the conclusions of American spy agencies that said President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia directed a campaign of hacking and propaganda to disrupt the 2016 presidential election. Continue reading “Senate Intelligence Heads Warn That Russian Election Meddling Continues”