Comrade Trump

[Uncle Ted]

Real question: Does it really matter how the Russian GRU gained access to this information? Whether it was spear-fishing or "actual hacking"?

Just to make sure we are all clear here and can avoid fake news:

Embedded Tweet

Yeah, it didn't change the vote count!

[creekster]

That's an interesting little detail that should not be overlooked: it's a shot across the bow of all representatives who are questioning the investigation.

Not really. There’s only one bow that will be bothered by the shot. Presumably.

[creekster]

It's an odd distinction to make. Somehow the crime is less serious or insidious because it was easy. Let's not forget Russians hacked into different states' election voter registration etc. Who knows what they'll do in the midterms.

Oooh the Russians!!! Jeez frank, did you read what I said? Obviously it’s a crime but podesta and the sever managers were such idiots. And the other events you reference may or may not be significant. And as far as the midterms go maybe now everyone at risk will use a real password and not fall prey to phishing attempts.

[creekster]

This would be chilling:

Conservatives moving to impeach Rosenstein soon: report



http://thehill.com/homenews/administ...mpression=true

Chilling? Not really. It would be politics. And it would be a dumb move by this guys but dumb is one of the few things this Congress seems to be fairly good at, so who knows.

[tooblue]

Not really. There’s only one bow that will be bothered by the shot. Presumably.

Congressional candidate or candidates?

[creekster]

Congressional candidate or candidates?

Did I miss the s? If so still a select few, I am suspect.

[Uncle Ted]

stupid russian hackers? Feels like you're minimizing here. They are 12 GRU intelligence and military officers.

This was going to take down Drumpf so that Pence could be President... ask BK. All we got instead were indictments for 12 russian "script kiddies" that we can't touch based on some secondhand hearsay from some "security company" that the dems hired to say intelligent sounding things. But it is really good secondhand hearsay so I am sure with the right jury the DoJ can make those charges stick. Of course, they still have the problem of actually arresting these script kiddies.

[tooblue]

Did I miss the s? If so still a select few, I am suspect.

No, you didn't miss an 's'. But it's not an accident that little detail was so easy to find and reported by USA today.

[frank ryan]

Officials: Russian firm used in Maryland election systems

A company that hosts various Maryland election systems has been acquired by a parent company with links to a Russian oligarch, state officials said Friday after a briefing a day earlier from the FBI.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch made the announcement at a news conference in the Maryland State House, a gathering that included staff members of Gov. Larry Hogan.

“The FBI conveyed to us that there is no criminal activity that they’ve seen,” Busch said. “They believe that the system that we have has not been breached.”

In a letter Friday, Hogan, Busch and Miller asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for technical assistance to evaluate the network used by the elections board.

“It is with concern that I learned that information provided to the Maryland State Board of Elections by federal law enforcement this week indicates that a vendor contracted by the Board to provide a number of services, including voter registration infrastructure, had been acquired by a parent company with financial ties to a Russian national,” Hogan said in a statement.

The vendor, ByteGrid LLC, was purchased by a Russian investor in 2015 without knowledge of Maryland state officials, officials said. The company’s offices were closed, and no one at the company could immediately be reached for comment.

Hogan said in his statement that while the information relayed by the FBI did not indicate “any wrongdoing or criminal acts have been discovered,” he noted that even the appearance of the potential for “bad actors” to have any influence on the state’s election infrastructure could undermine public trust in the election system.

“That is why it is imperative that the State Board of Elections take immediate and comprehensive action to evaluate the security of our system and take any and all necessary steps to address any vulnerabilities,” Hogan said.

In a statement, the state elections board said the FBI told officials that ByteGrid is financed by AltPoint Capital Partners, whose fund manager is a Russian, and its largest investor is a Russian oligarch named Vladimir Potanin. The board said that in response, it has been working with various federal and state officials to ensure that voter data and the state’s election systems are secure.

Busch described leading investor as being “very close to the Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin.”

Miller said Maryland officials decided it was “imperative that our constituents know that a Russian oligarch has purchased our election machinery, and we need to be on top of it.”

Maryland officials made the announcement hours after the Justice Department released a grand jury indictment against 12 Russia military intelligence officers for computer hacking offenses during the 2016 U.S. election. Miller said that announcement convinced Maryland officials to disclose the FBI briefing, even if the agents who briefed them were not eager to make the information public.

“They weren’t really anxious for us to come forward, but after today we felt we had an obligation to share it with you and share it with our constituents that this has occurred and we want the public to know this as well,” Miller said.

In a statement, Maryland’s elections board said it was not the state election office mentioned in the federal indictment. The board also said no Maryland election official has used or is using services provided by the vendor referenced in the indictment.

Busch said there was no indication the company had anything to do with a voter registration error at the state’s Motor Vehicle Administration that created the potential for tens of thousands of voters to require provisional ballots in last month’s primary.

Maryland was one of the states with suspicious online activities before the 2016 election, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

In August 2016, the state board says “unusual activity” was observed on the state’s online voter registration and ballot request system, and the board immediately responded. The board says it provided log files to the FBI, one of the state’s cybersecurity vendors and another cybersecurity firm, and all three independently reviewed the transactions related to the activity and found nothing suspicious.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...=.c81114d385fa

[Uncle Ted]

Officials: Russian firm used in Maryland election systems





https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...=.c81114d385fa

LOL... great, these vulnerable voting machines are now made by foreigners. Let me guess, they are assembled in China! Of course, the dems do want to even check the voter's ID and let anyone vote so what difference does it make?

[frank ryan]

US intelligence chief: 'The warning lights are blinking red again' on cyberattacks

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats raised the alarm on growing cyberattack threats against the United States, saying the situation is at a "critical point" and coming out forcefully against Russia.

"The warning signs are there. The system is blinking. It is why I believe we are at a critical point," Coats said, addressing the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC, on Friday.

"Today, the digital infrastructure that serves this country is literally under attack," he said.

Coats compared the "warning signs" to those the United States faced ahead of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"It was in the months prior to September 2001 when, according to then-CIA Director George Tenet, the system is blinking red. And here we are nearly two decades later, and I'm here to say, the warning lights are blinking red again," Coats said.

Coats said the "worst offenders" are Russia, China, Iran and North Korea -- with Russia the "most aggressive foreign actor, no question. And they continue their efforts to undermine our democracy."

Every day, those countries "are penetrating our digital infrastructure and conducting a range of cyber intrusions and attacks against targets in the United States," he said.

Some of their targets include the federal government, the US military, state and local governments, and US businesses, he said.

Coats' comments came the same day that the Justice Department announced the indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence agents, accusing them of engaging in a "sustained effort" to hack Democrats' emails and computer networks during the 2016 election.

Coats referred to the indictments and alluded to upcoming election threats, but said "focusing on the potential impact of these actions, on our midterm election, misses the more important point: These actions are persistent, they're pervasive, and they are meant to undermine America's democracy on a daily basis, regardless of whether it is election time or not. Russia actors and others are exploring vulnerabilities in our critical infrastructure as well."

Coats added, "What's serious about the Russians is their intent. They have capabilities, but it's their intent to undermine our basic values, undermine democracy, create wedges between us and our allies."

Coats pointed to the indictment as showing "exactly what they're trying to do or what they've done through their military intelligence relative to elections."

So far, he said, the United States is "not yet seeing the kind of electoral interference in specific states and in voter databases that we experienced in 2016" by the Kremlin.

"However, we realize we are just one click of the keyboard away from a similar situation repeating itself," he warned.

Trump is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin one-on-one in Helsinki, Finland, on Monday. Trump said he intends to raise the 2016 election meddling during his discussion with Putin.

While Coats will not be sitting down with Putin, he was asked Friday what his message to Putin would be if he was given the chance to speak with the Russian leader.

"My message would be: We know what you're doing, and we know you know what you're doing and what we're doing. If your goal is to strengthen Russia in the proper way, we can cooperate with you," he said, later adding, "But if you want to stay in this tit-for-tat, we're going to beat you."

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/07/14/p...mpression=true

[Uncle Ted]

US intelligence chief: 'The warning lights are blinking red again' on cyberattacks

"It was in the months prior to September 2001 when, according to then-CIA Director George Tenet, the system is blinking red. And here we are nearly two decades later, and I'm here to say, the warning lights are blinking red again," Coats said.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/07/14/p...mpression=true

It would be awesome if they had something like this in that kick ass cyber command center...

[frank ryan]

It's getting harder and harder to be a member of the nothingburger/witch hunt crowd. Russian who set up back channels has been charged. Looks like she had links to the NRA

Russian National Charged in Conspiracy to Act as an Agent of the Russian Federation Within the United States


https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/russi...-united-states

[Uncle Ted]

It's getting harder and harder to be a member of the nothingburger/witch hunt crowd. The Russian lawyer who set up the Trump Tower meeting has been charged:

Russian National Charged in Conspiracy to Act as an Agent of the Russian Federation Within the United States


https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/russi...-united-states

So is this the one that is going to nail Drumpf!?! Can we start calling Pence "President Pence"?

[frank ryan]

So is this the one that is going to nail Drumpf!?! Can we start calling Pence "President Pence"?

The one? It's part of a massive ongoing investigation that already has a bunch of people indicted. It's just getting progressively less logical for folks like you to repeat Kremlin/altright bullshit.

Like the Hillary Clinton funneling money nonsense. Putin accused Bill Browder of helping her do that. Do you know who that is?

He's a guy Putin has constantly made up allegations about, to the point that countries are starting to ignore Russian Interpol requests to detain the guy.

Who is Bill Browder? Putin asks for Trump's help in questioning billionaire for 'illegal activities' in Russia

During a press conference with President Donald Trump in Finland on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would allow special counsel Robert Mueller to interview Russians indicted for interfering in the 2016 presidential election if Russian law enforcement can access people connected to one man in particular: the London-based financier Bill Browder.

“Business associates of Mr. Browder have earned over 1.5 million dollars in Russia. They never paid any taxes, neither in Russia nor in the United States, and yet the money escaped the country and was transferred to the United States,” Putin said Monday. “They sent a huge amount of money, $400 million, as a contribution to the campaign of Hillary Clinton. That’s a personal case, it might have been legal, the contribution itself, but the way the money was earned was illegal…So we have a solid reason to believe that some intelligence officers accompanied and guided these transactions, so we have an interest in questioning them,” Putin added.

Browder is a fierce opponent of Putin who successfully advocated for sanctions against Kremlin-linked Russians. Shorty after Putin and Trump's press conference, Browder responded to the allegations that he is linked to the Clinton campaign.

"I did not [funnel money to Hillary Clinton]. I'm not a U.S. citizen, I don't live in the United States, I've been living in Britain for 29 years, I make no campaign contributions," Browder told CNBC Monday. "I should also point out that Vladimir Putin and his regime have accused me of serial killing, of being a CIA, MI6 agent, and about a thousand other things, so he's kind of unhinged in these accusations."

https://www.newsweek.com/american-bi...-press-1026960

Stop believing Russian bullshit.