Background:
Russian Election Interference in 2016 and in 2020 and now more so today. Over
the course of the 2016 election, a wide-ranging group of Russians probed state
voter databases for insecurities:
1. They hacked the Hillary Clinton campaign,
the DCCC, and the DNC.
2. They tried to hack the campaign of Sen. Marco
Rubio (R-FL).
3. They also tried to hack the RNC.
4. They released politically damaging information
on the internet.
5. They spread propaganda on Twitter, Facebook,
YouTube and Instagram.
6. They staged rallies in Florida and Pennsylvania.
7. They set up meetings with members of the Trump
campaign members: Kushner, Manafort, and Donald Jr.
8. They also floated a business proposition for a
skyscraper in Moscow to the Trump Organization.
Their goal, as determined by our entire 17-member U.S.
Intelligence Community (IC), and backed up by strong evidence gathered by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and
others, all show what the Russian intentions were and still are today:
1. To damage the Clinton campaign.
2. To boost Trump’s chances of winning.
3. To sow chaos, distrust, and turmoil in our overall
voting system.
4. To tear down and damage as much as possible
trust in our overall democratic system.
In other words to spread hate and discontent – did they
succeed, but more importantly: Are they still working at that goal? I say just
do not look at, read, watch, or listen to social media sites and such (or other
questionable sites. If you choose to read or watch one or two sites or one or two
news sources, you are apt to fall for the clever and skilled disinformation
being spewed. You will not see the big picture. Ronald Reagan once said ref:
Russian promises: “Trust but verify.” Good advice. The more places you check the
better informed you become.
2020 Election Cycle:
This assessment just before that election here from Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for
International Studies:
Background from 2019 and the Robert Mueller report: He warned
during his congressional testimony when asked whether Russia would continue to
interfere in U.S. elections said in part: “Yes, even as we sit here.” He added:
“Many more countries have developed campaigns inspired by their model.” (Sic)
The Senate Intelligence Committee released a bipartisan report noting:
“Russian disinformation efforts may be focused on gathering information and
data points in support of an active measures campaign targeted at the 2020 U.S.
presidential election.”
In a classified report, the CIA observed: “President Vladimir Putin
and the senior most Russian officials are aware of and probably directing
Russia’s influence operations aimed at denigrating the former U.S. Vice
President, supporting the U.S. president and fueling public discord ahead of
the U.S. election in November.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified in mid-September that
Russian efforts were very active.
In an update on election threats,
Director William Evanina of the National Counterintelligence and Security
Center (NCSC) remarked that Russia is: “Using a range of measures to primarily
denigrate former Vice President Biden and what it sees as an anti-Russia
establishment. For example, pro-Russia Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy
Derkach is spreading claims about corruption — including through publicizing
leaked phone calls — to undermine former Vice President Biden’s candidacy and
the Democratic Party. Some Kremlin-linked actors are also seeking to boost
President Trump’s candidacy on social media and Russian television.”
In September, Derkach was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury
Department for being “an active Russian agent for over a decade, maintaining
close connections with the Russian Intelligence Services” and “waging a covert
influence campaign centered on cultivating false and unsubstantiated narratives
concerning U.S. officials in the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election,”
including by releasing “edited audio tapes and other unsupported information
with the intent to discredit U.S. officials.”
Between misinformation related to COVID-19, coverage of
racial justice protests, and increased aggression from extremist groups,
Russian operatives have found a highly polarized and chaotic environment in
which they can emphasize divisive examples of racism, stoke anger, and impersonate political
candidates or groups online. Through a technique of information laundering,
websites first “report” divisive propaganda with the hopes that more legitimate
outlets will then pick up and circulate the stories. Russia’s Internet Research
Agency created the fictitious Newsroom for American and European Based Citizens to
spread propaganda, and created an entity called Peace Data to recruit U.S.
journalists to write articles critical of Democratic presidential nominee Joe
Biden. Affiliated accounts have since been suspended or deleted from Facebook,
LinkedIn, and Twitter. The Department of Homeland Security warned law enforcement that
Russian actors were particularly amplifying fears about absentee voting and
other measures taken to protect voters during the pandemic in order to sow
discord.
Russian hacking related to this topic here from CNN:
U.S. IC and law enforcement agencies investigating the massive hacking campaign targeting
American government agencies and private sector companies issued a joint
statement Tuesday (January 5) saying: “The group responsible likely originated
in Russia and the attack is believed to be an act of espionage rather than
cyber warfare,” that some lawmakers have suggested.
In summary: A statement issued by the Cyber Unified
Coordination Group (UCG) clearly acknowledges what IC officials and experts
have suspected since the data breach was first disclosed last month: the
Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor responsible is “likely Russian in
origin.”
Noteworthy reference that assessment is that it runs counter
to what President Trump has said publicly in the weeks since the data breach
first came to light. (Just he still did and does about Russian hacking in 2016
to help win – as noted above – he remains in deep denial and the lingering
question remains: What is Putin holding over him?).
As noted, Trump has previously questioned IC coordinated intelligence
reports and assessments saying the hackers were linked to Russia. He has
downplayed the impact of the 2016 breach and now this one, too – now which top officials
and experts say is historic and could take years to fully understand.
My 2 cents: With all this
fresh emphasis on Russian hacking – now very serious as stated above, Trump
still finds time to golf and talk about the 2020 election being rigged against
him all the while he seldom addresses national security and the growing menace
of this pandemic again on the rise nation-wide, or about Russian hacking.
He is focused on staying
in office anyway possible and that must not be allowed to stand. Stay tuned for
January 6th and the goat screw now brewing that many Republicans are
now are planning to disrupt and mess with to please and give Trump what he
wants: Overturning the election and keeping him in office at all cost.
Thanks for stopping by.
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