Tag: Russia

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Donald Trump Elections Espionage

Quid Pro Quo: Treasury Department Proves Russia Stole The 2016 Election For Trump

The Latin phrase quid pro quo literally means “what for what” or “something for something,” and it defines a favor or advantage granted or expected in return for something.

Ever since 2016, there have been numerous investigations trying to determine if there was indeed a quid pro quo between Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign and Russia, especially the highest levels of Russian intelligence and the Kremlin.

Proof has now been laid out by the Treasury Department that carefully explains how the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia did indeed work in concert with one another to steal the election for Trump, making him an illegitimate president.

CNN reports that the link between the Trump camp and Russia can be found in the person of a man named Konstantin Kilimnik, who has deep links to the intelligence services of Russia:

“The new revelations about Moscow’s election meddling came as part of the Biden administration’s slate of sanctions against Russian actors on Thursday over Russia’s election interference as well as the SolarWinds hack and Russia’s ongoing occupation of Crimea.

“After then-President Donald Trump repeatedly denied or downplayed Russia’s election interference in 2016, senior Trump administration officials, including Trump himself, refused to acknowledge or elevate Russian operations in 2020 and sought to characterize China as the greater threat.

“The sanctions also included the US government’s acknowledgment for the first time that a Russian-linked intelligence operative named Konstantin Kilimnik provided information on Trump campaign polling strategy and data to the Russian intelligence services in 2016.”

The passing of polling information to Russian intelligence was especially helpful to the Kremlin because it allowed so-called “troll farms” to target specific audiences on social media sites in an attempt to turn voters away from 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and toward Trump. That was a huge advantage for Trump because his campaign’s digital operation relied on misinformation and lies about Clinton to place doubt in the minds of American voters.

The Biden administration’s new sanctions are some of the most extensive and far-reaching ever placed on any foreign government, NBC News noted:

“Under the order, the Treasury Department has blacklisted six Russian technology companies that provide support to the cyber program run by Russia’s intelligence services.

“Treasury also sanctioned 32 entities and individuals for ‘carrying out Russian government-directed attempts to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and other acts of disinformation and interference,’ as well as eight individuals and entities associated with Russia’s actions in Crimea.”

For the first time since President Obama left office, the Oval Office is occupied by a man who understands that Russia and Vladimir Putin are a direct and ongoing threat to U.S. national security.

Additionally, Treasury’s report also clears the way for the Department of Justice to file criminal charges against former president Trump and members of his 2016 campaign. Here’s hoping Attorney General Merrick Garland will do exactly that.

 

Categories
Donald Trump Espionage Foreign Policy Russia Trump-Russia

Trump Allowed Russia To Steal The ‘Crown Jewels’ Of U.S. Intelligence: Report

As if it wasn’t bad enough that failed, one-term former President Donald Trump repeatedly kowtowed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, it turns out that Russian hackers also managed to steal what is being called the “crown jewels” from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The Associated Press (AP) reports that hackers from Russia managed to steal emails from top officials in the DHS, which could have serious implications for U.S. national security:

“Suspected Russian hackers gained access to email accounts belonging to the Trump administration’s head of the Department of Homeland Security and members of the department’s cybersecurity staff whose jobs included hunting threats from foreign countries, The Associated Press has learned.

“The intelligence value of the hacking of then-acting Secretary Chad Wolf and his staff is not publicly known, but the symbolism is stark. Their accounts were accessed as part of what’s known as the SolarWinds intrusion, and it throws into question how the U.S. government can protect individuals, companies and institutions across the country if it can’t protect itself.”

The Biden administration is trying to decide exactly what sanctions to impose on Russia for the DHS hack, but based on the AP’s reporting, it seems fair to surmise the punishment will be severe.

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) says targeting the DHS allowed Russia to have access to some of the most carefully guarded secrets in the world:

“The SolarWinds hack was a victory for our foreign adversaries, and a failure for DHS. We are talking about DHS’s crown jewels.”

Since Homeland Security is tasked with overseeing several important agencies — including the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Customs Service, the Russian hack means Russian intelligence may have obtained information that could directly impact the security of the United States.

Though it remains unclear exactly how harsh the White House will choose to be with sanctions, it has already become clear to Russia that relations between the two nations will continue to be strained. When Biden was recently asked if he thought Putin was a “killer,” he quickly replied that he did.

Trump, on the other hand, tried to suggest there were many killers in the United States, trying to excuse Putin’s murderous actions.

One thing is certain: Russia and Putin will no longer be coddled by the American head of state. And based on their actions, they damn well shouldn’t be.

 

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Donald Trump Jr. Russia Social Media WTF?!

Junior Sides With Putin Over Biden And Sets Off A Wave Of Anger And Revulsion

For years now, members of the Trump family have repeatedly denied they have any ties to Russia or Russian President Vladimir Putin, even though evidence to the contrary can be found everywhere you look, including the four years of Donald Trump’s failed, one-term presidency, when he refused to criticize Putin for anything, even when evidence pointed directly to the Russian leader.

Now, however, under President Joe Biden, the tone has changed, with the current president making it clear the United States government will no longer coddle the mass murdering thug who currently rules the nation of Russia.

Just this week, Biden was asked if he considered Putin to be a killer. He replied:

“Mm-hmm, I do.”

And that wasn’t all President Biden had to say about the Russian president:

“The president also said Putin would ‘pay a price’ after U.S. intelligence released a report that found the Kremlin had tried to help former President Donald Trump win reelection last year.”

Contrast that with what Trump said when he was asked the same question by former Fox host Bill O’Reilly in 2017:

“There are a lot of killers. Do you think our country is so innocent?”

For his part, when Putin was asked about President Biden’s comments that he was killer, he lamely told a reporter:

“It takes one to know one.”

Putin also challenged Biden to an unscripted debate, which Biden wisely refused. Why in the hell would you debate a man who has repeatedly tried to interfere with our elections?

Into this back-and-forth steps Donald Trump Jr. Yes, the same Don Jr. who met with Russian officials at Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential race to obtain “dirt” on Hillary Clinton.

Junior posted this on Twitter:

As if the United States looked any weaker than it did with Don Jr.’s old man in the White House.

That was all it took for social media to light up with anger and outright revulsion:

https://twitter.com/RoArquette/status/1372679598463352832?s=20
https://twitter.com/Pellemoe/status/1372702872534708225?s=20
https://twitter.com/pcrritesgood/status/1372659046604488706?s=20

Here’s a bit of advice for Don Jr.: If Putin is such great guy, why don’t you move to Moscow and renounce your U.S. citizenship? That way you could be closer to the object of your man crush.

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Donald Trump Elections Espionage Russia

New Intel Report Suggests Giuliani Worked As Go-Between For Russia In 2020 Election

A bombshell report from the U.S. National Intelligence Council makes clear that Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to once again help Donald Trump win reelection in 2020, and it also seems to suggest that the go-between for Russia was none other than Rudy Giuliani.
The New York Times reports that while the intelligence report doesn’t specifically name any individual, the language used in the report clearly points in Guiliani’s direction:
“President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia authorized extensive efforts to interfere in the American presidential election to denigrate the candidacy of Joseph R. Biden Jr., including intelligence operations to influence people close to former President Donald J. Trump, according to a declassified intelligence report released Tuesday. “The report did not name those people but seemed to be a reference to the work of Mr. Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, who relentlessly pushed allegations of corruption about Mr. Biden and his family involving Ukraine. “’Russian state and proxy actors who all serve the Kremlin’s interests worked to affect U.S. public perceptions in a consistent manner,’ the report said.”
Think back several months to when it became clear that Joe Biden had all of the momentum and would be the Democratic nominee. Giuliani made multiple appearances on Fox News and other right-wing media outlets to suggest that he was on the verge of releasing information that would supposedly prove criminal actions on the part of Biden or his son, Hunter. Despite his promises that such information was forthcoming, the former New York City mayor never came up with anything other than rumors and accusations devoid of any substantiation.
At the center of the efforts to smear Biden was the nation of Ukraine, which Giuliani even visited, as The Hill noted back in December of 2019:
“Giuliani met with multiple Ukrainian officials as he continued his effort to counter House Democrats’ impeachment probe and paint an investigation into the Bidens as a matter critical to the relationship between the two countries.”
Additionally, the key figure in the effort to dig up negative information on the Biden family was also of Ukrainian origin:
“Moscow used Andriy Derkach, a pro-Russian member of Ukraine’s parliament, to undermine Mr. Biden, the report detailed. Mr. Derkach, according to the report, released leaked phone calls to undermine Mr. Biden and link him to Ukrainian corruption four times in 2020. The report said Mr. Putin ‘had purview’ over the actions of Mr. Derkach, who had ties to Russian intelligence. “Moscow’s operatives also pushed a false narrative that Ukraine, not Russia, was responsible for interfering in American politics, according to the report. Last year, American intelligence officials told Congress that Russia was using allies to pushing negative stories about Mr. Biden’s son Hunter and his work in Ukraine.”
Giuliani’s efforts on Trump and Russia’s behalf could place him in severe legal jeopardy if the Department of Justice chooses to file charges against him. Rudy didn’t receive a pardon before Trump left office, and that could come back to be a very big deal. No matter what happens, the intelligence report makes clear that both Russia and Giuliani were working fervently to get Trump reelected. Fortunately for the United States (and the world), they were unsucessful.
Categories
Corruption National Security The Trump Adminstration

Michael Flynn Is Facing Penalties From The Army For Taking Russian Money

Former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn doesn’t have to worry about going to prison for lying under oath thanks to a pardon from his good friend, failed, one-term president Donald Trump, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to get off scot-free for playing footsie with the Russians.

According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Army is looking to punish Flynn for his failure to reveal that he received $45,000 from a Kremlin-controlled media organization. In return for the money, Flynn agreed to sit next to Russian president Vladimir Putin at a dinner held in 2015:

“The investigation focuses on Flynn’s acceptance of money from Russian and Turkish interests before joining the Trump administration, a potential violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clause. With few exceptions, U.S. officials, including retired service members like Flynn, are prohibited from accepting money or gifts from foreign governments. Flynn retired from the Army as a three-star general in 2014.”

Army officials are also said to be upset by Flynn’s remarks about the 2020 election being stolen from Trump. Flynn even went so far as to suggest that Trump — acting as commander in chief — could declare martial law and order a “redo” of the election in key swing states where President Joe Biden triumphed over Trump.

If they choose, the Army could penalize Flynn financially:

Defense Department guidelines warn that it ‘may pursue debt collection’ if a retired service member does not secure approval to accept foreign payments before doing so.

In other words, all of the money Flynn earned working for Russia or other countries would have to be paid back to the Pentagon because he failed to disclose the payments he received.

Considering all the harm Flynn has done to the United States, it’s a shame the Army can’t just lock him up and also collect the ill-gotten money.