Tag: Trump campaign

Mueller probe indicts 12 Russians with hacking of Democrats in 2016

The following article by Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky was posted on the Washington Post website July 13, 2018:

The special counsel’s indictment of 12 Russian military officers is a rebuke of President Trump’s many claims that the DNC hack and the Russia probe are a hoax. (Jenny Starrs /The Washington Post)

A dozen Russian military intelligence officers were indicted Friday on charges they hacked Democrats’ computers, stole their data and published those files to disrupt the 2016 election — the clearest connection to the Kremlin established so far by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of interference in the presidential campaign.

The indictment against members of the Russian military agency known as the GRU marks the first time Mueller has taken direct aim at the Russian government, accusing specific military units and their named officers of a sophisticated, sustained effort to hack the computer networks of Democratic organizations and the Hillary Clinton campaign.

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced the charges at a midday news conference. Mueller, as has been his practice, did not attend the announcement. Court records show that a grand jury that Mueller has been using returned an indictment Friday morning.

View the complete article on the Washington Post website here.

Shifting Strategy, Trump’s Lawyers Set New Conditions for Mueller Interview

The following article by Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman was posted on the New York Times website July 6, 2018:

Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s lead lawyer in the special counsel investigation, has adopted an aggressive strategy in combating the inquiry. Credit: Doug Mills, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s lawyers set new conditions on Friday on an interview with the special counsel and said that the chances that the president would be voluntarily questioned were growing increasingly unlikely.

The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, needs to prove before Mr. Trump would agree to an interview that he has evidence that Mr. Trump committed a crime and that his testimony is essential to completing the investigation, said Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s lead lawyer in the case.

His declaration was the latest sign that the president’s lawyers, who long cooperated quietly with the inquiry even as their client attacked it, have shifted to an openly combative stance.

View the full article on the New York Times website here.

Mike Flynn’s Delayed Sentence Suggests ‘He Still Has a Lot More to Give’ Robert Mueller: NBC Reporter

The following article by Cory Fenwick was posted on the AlterNet website June 29, 2018:

The president former national security adviser has become a cooperating witness in the Russia investigation.

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Credit: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, a cooperating witness in the ongoing Russia investigation, appears to have become a valuable source of information in special counsel Robert Mueller’s work, and according to a court filing Friday.

We know that because Mueller requested another two-month delay before Flynn’s sentencing. NBC reporter Ken Dilianian explained what that means on MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House” with Nicolle Wallace.

“We have to be careful about reading too much into this,” he said, “but the fact that they are continuing to delay Mike Flynn’s sentence, Mike Flynn’s cooperating with Robert Mueller’s investigation, suggests that he still has a lot more to give them.”

View the full post on the AlterNet website.

How the ‘Bad Boys of Brexit’ forged ties with Russia and the Trump campaign — and came under investigators’ scrutiny

The following article by Manuel Roig-Franzia, Rosalind S. Helderman, William booth and Tom Hamburger was posted on the Washington Post website June 28, 2018:

Three British men who played major roles in the Brexit vote had several meetings with a Russian Ambassador sometimes days before meeting with Trump’s campaign. (Video: Joyce Koh/Photo: (Wigmore/Finn/WENN)/The Washington Post)

BRISTOL, England — On Aug. 19, 2016, Arron Banks, a wealthy British businessman, sat down at the palatial residence of the Russian ambassador to London for a lunch of wild halibut and Belevskaya pastila apple sweets accompanied by Russian white wine.

Banks had just scored a huge win. From relative obscurity, he had become the largest political donor in British history by pouring millions into Brexit, the campaign to disentangle the United Kingdom from the European Union that had earned a jaw-dropping victory at the polls two months earlier. Continue reading “How the ‘Bad Boys of Brexit’ forged ties with Russia and the Trump campaign — and came under investigators’ scrutiny”

The Mueller Indictments of Russian Intelligence Officers

Credit: Washington Post

What we need to remember moving forward.  This investigation isn’t a witch hunt.  With this many guilty pleas and indictment, there IS a “there there”.

The Russian government attacked our democracy in 2016 and the Democratic National Committee was a primary target of this attack. Those are the facts.

The July 13 indictment gives us a detailed and disturbing look at just how sophisticated, well-funded, and wide-ranging Russia’s attack on our democracy really was. It should send chills up the spine of every American.

The Department of Justice indictment added details such as Russian intelligence officers’ intrusion into the website of a state election board and theft of information related to approximately 500,000 voters. Continue reading “The Mueller Indictments of Russian Intelligence Officers”

DNC on Indictments Related to Russian Hack

People walk on Red Square past the Kremlin in December. Credit: Yuri Kadobnov, AFP/Getty Images)

DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement after Special Counsel Robert Mueller issued an indictment against Russian government officials responsible for cyber-attacks on the Democratic National Committee and other political and election-related organizations during the 2016 U.S. elections:

“The Russian government attacked our democracy in 2016 and the Democratic National Committee was a primary target of this attack. Those are the facts.

“Today’s indictment makes clear just how vast this operation was, adding details such as Russian intelligence officers’ intrusion into the website of a state election board and theft of information related to approximately 500,000 voters. Continue reading “DNC on Indictments Related to Russian Hack”

‘How Dare You!’: Corey Lewandowski Mocks Girl with Down Syndrome Who was ‘Caged’ by Border Agents

The follow article by Cody Fenwick was posted on the AlterNet website June 19, 2018:

Lewandowski served as President Trump’s campaign manager.

President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski tried to make light of the administration’s policy of separating immigrant families on Fox News Tuesday, and he ended up mocking a young girl with Down syndrome who had been torn away from her mother.

“I read today about a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome who was taken from her mother and put in a cage,” Zac Petkanas, a Democratic strategist, said on during Fox News discussion of the policy. Continue reading “‘How Dare You!’: Corey Lewandowski Mocks Girl with Down Syndrome Who was ‘Caged’ by Border Agents”

Trump associate Roger Stone reveals new contact with Russian national during 2016 campaign

The following article by Manuel Roig-Franzia and Rosalind Helderman was psoted on the Washington Post website June 17, 2018:

MIAMI — One day in late May 2016, Roger Stone — the political dark sorcerer and longtime confidant of Donald Trump — slipped into his Jaguar and headed out to meet a man with a “Make America Great Again” hat and a viscous Russian accent.

The man, who called himself Henry Greenberg, offered damaging information about Hillary Clinton, Trump’s presumptive Democratic opponent in the upcoming presidential election, according to Stone, who spoke about the previously unreported incident in interviews with The Washington Post. Greenberg, who did not reveal the information he claimed to possess, wanted Trump to pay $2 million for the political dirt, Stone said. Continue reading “Trump associate Roger Stone reveals new contact with Russian national during 2016 campaign”

Trump team secretly working with same shady data thieves to rig 2020

The following article by Oliver Willis was posted on the Shareblue.com website June 15, 2018:

Former operatives from Cambridge Analytica, the shady data firm Trump used to suppress votes and run racist ads, are secretly working with his re-election campaign.

Credit: AP/Evan Vucci

Operatives from Cambridge Analytica, the shady data firm at the center of an international scandal, are secretly working with Trump’s re-election campaign.

The Associated Press reports that at least four former Cambridge Analatica employees are working with a new firm, Data Propria. Continue reading “Trump team secretly working with same shady data thieves to rig 2020”