Tag: Russian interference in the 2016 election

McCabe says he quickly opened FBI investigation of Trump for fear of being fired

Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe told CBS’s “60 Minutes” that he was concerned the Russia investigation would “vanish in the night without a trace.” (Reuters)

Former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe said in an interview that aired Thursday that he authorized an investigation into President Trump’s ties to Russia a day after meeting with him in May 2017 out of fear that he could soon be fired.

“I was very concerned that I was able to put the Russia case on absolutely solid ground in an indelible fashion that, were I removed quickly or reassigned or fired, that the case could not be closed or vanish in the night without a trace,” McCabe told CBS.

The comments marked the first time that McCabe has publicly addressed why he opened an investigation into Trump following the firing of FBI Director James B. Comey, whose post McCabe took over. They came as CBS broadcast a portion of an interview scheduled to air in full Sunday on “60 Minutes.”

View the complete February 14 article by Matt Zapotosky and John Wagner on The Washington Post website here.

Russian ads, now publicly released, show sophistication of influence campaign

The following article by Craig Timberg, Elizabeth Dwoskin, Adam Entous and Karoun Demirjian was posted on the Washington Post website November 1, 2017:

On Nov. 1, the House Intelligence Committee released social media advertisements that were pushed by Russian groups to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. (Joyce Koh/The Washington Post)

Lawmakers on Wednesday released a trove of ads that Russian operatives bought on Facebook, providing the fullest picture yet of how foreign actors sought to promote Republican Donald Trump, denigrate Democrat Hillary Clinton and divide Americans over some of the nation’s most sensitive social issues.

The ads that emerged, a sampling of the 3,000 that Russians bought during the 2016 presidential campaign and its aftermath, demonstrated in words and images a striking ability to mimic American political discourse at its most fractious. The targeting information also showed a shrewd understanding of how best to use Facebook to find and influence voters most likely to respond to the pitches. Continue reading “Russian ads, now publicly released, show sophistication of influence campaign”