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12 russians indicted for hacking dems


aubiefifty

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finance.yahoo.com

12 Russians accused of hacking Democrats in 2016 US election

Eric Tucker, Associated Press

5-6 minutes

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Twelve Russian intelligence officers hacked into the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton presidential campaign in the run-up to the 2016 election and released tens of thousands of stolen communications in a brazen effort by a foreign government to meddle in U.S. politics, according to a grand jury indictment announced Friday.

The indictment stands as the clearest Justice Department allegation yet of Russian efforts to interfere, through illegal hacking, in the U.S. presidential election before Americans went to the polls — and the first to implicate the Russian government directly. It had been sought by special counsel Robert Mueller and comes days before President Donald Trump holds a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

U.S. intelligence agencies have said the meddling was aimed at helping the Trump campaign and harming the election bid of his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. The effort also included bogus Facebook ads and social media postings that prosecutors say were aimed at influencing public opinion and sowing discord on hot-button social issues.

The indictment lays out a sweeping effort starting in March 2016 to break into key Democratic email accounts, such as those belonging to the Democratic National Committee, the Clinton campaign and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Among those targeted was John Podesta, the Clinton campaign chairman.

The Kremlin denied anew that it tried to sway the election. "The Russian state has never interfered and has no intention of interfering in the U.S. elections," Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Friday.

But the indictment identifies the defendants as officers with Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff, also known as GRU. It accuses them of covertly monitoring the computers of dozens of Democratic officials and volunteers, implanting malicious computer code known as malware and using spearphishing emails to gain control of the accounts of people associated with the Clinton campaign.

By June 2016, the defendants began planning the release of tens of thousands of stolen emails and documents, the indictment alleges. The messages were released through fictitious personas like DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0.

The charges come as Mueller continues to investigate potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign to influence the presidential election. The indictment does not allege that Trump campaign associates were involved in the hacking efforts or that any American was knowingly in contact with Russian intelligence officers.

The indictment also does not allege that any vote tallies were altered by hacking.

Still, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said the internet "allows foreign adversaries to attack Americans in new and unexpected ways. Free and fair elections are hard-fought and contentious and there will always be adversaries who work to exacerbate domestic differences and try to confuse, divide and conquer us."

Before Friday, 20 people and three companies had been charged in the Mueller investigation. The 20 are four former Trump campaign and White House aides, three of whom have pleaded guilty to different crimes and agreed to cooperate, and 13 Russians accused of participating in a hidden but powerful social media campaign to sway U.S. public opinion in the 2016 election.

If the involvement of the GRU officers in the hacking effort is proved, it would shatter the Kremlin denials of the Russian state's involvement in the U.S. elections.

The GRU, which answers to the Russian military's General Staff, is part of the state machine and its involvement would indicate that the orders to interfere in the U.S. election came from the very top.

Hours before the Justice Department announcement, Trump complained anew that the special counsel's investigation is complicating his efforts to forge a better working relationship with Russia. Trump and Putin are scheduled to hold talks Monday in Finland, a meeting largely sought by Trump.

After the indictments were announced, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer called on Trump to cancel his meeting with Putin until Russia takes steps to prove it won't interfere in future elections. He said the indictments are "further proof of what everyone but the president seems to understand: President Putin is an adversary who interfered in our elections to help President Trump win."

Trump said at a news conference Friday near London with British Prime Minister Theresa May that he wasn't going into the meeting with Putin with "high expectations."

Referring to Mueller's probe, he said: "We do have a — a political problem where — you know in the United States we have this stupidity going on. Pure stupidity. But it makes it very hard to do something with Russia. Anything you do, it's always going to be, 'Oh, Russia, he loves Russia.'"

"I love the United States," Trump continued. "But I love getting along with Russia and China and other countries."

___

Associated Press writers Richard Lardner, Desmond Butler and Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington and Raphael Satter in Paris contributed to this report

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I wish I could count on Trump to confront Putin when he denies hacking and uses this as proof that in fact, they did and push for extradition of these 12. Of course, we know that won't happen. The "summit" will be more pomp and circumstance and no real push against Russia. This will only embolden them for future elections, with their ultimate goal being that people won't trust election results if they think that ballots and/or voter registrations may have actually been tampered with.

Straight from the indictment:

Quote

In or around July 2016, Kovalev and his co-conspirators hacked the website of a state board of elections ("SBOE 1") and stole information related to approximately 500,000 voters, including names, addresses, partial social security numbers, dates of birth, and driver's license numbers.

 

This is a very serious charge. If only our President and Congress would start protecting us, the American people and our institutions vital to our republic.

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3 minutes ago, channonc said:

If only our President and Congress would start protecting us, the American people and our institutions vital to our republic.

Does this apply to people trying to come here illegally or just issues that appease your fancy?

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A couple of things

3 minutes ago, channonc said:

 

This is a very serious charge. If only our President and Congress would start protecting us, the American people and our institutions vital to our republic.

I agree. Who was POTUS in July 2016?

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Just now, Proud Tiger said:

A couple of things

I agree. Who was POTUS in July 2016?

What on earth does that have to do with anything? We know about the details now, now is the time to act. Your "but Obama" as every answer is getting old.

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5 minutes ago, Proud Tiger said:

A couple of things

I agree. Who was POTUS in July 2016?

Good point because he expressly asserted that Russia posed no threat to our electoral process.

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23 minutes ago, NolaAuTiger said:

Good point because he expressly asserted that Russia posed no threat to our electoral process.

So if we agree it was Obama’s fault, y’all will agree it’s a problem?

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28 minutes ago, TexasTiger said:

So if we agree it was Obama’s fault, y’all will agree it’s a problem?

It is a problem.  POTUS irrelevant. 

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I have no idea what communications may have gone  on with Trump about the indictments mentioned in the OP. But if he didn't now it as dumb as dirt on the DOJ's part. Why in the world would you announce this days before Trump meets with Putin? I would fire Rosenstein's ass from Moscow. It is even dumber since the indictments are meaningless. None of the Russians will ever appear in any U.S. court.

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7 minutes ago, Proud Tiger said:

I have no idea what communications may have gone  on with Trump about the indictments mentioned in the OP. But if he didn't now it as dumb as dirt. Why in the world would you announce this days before Trump meets with Putin? I would fire Rosenstein's ass from Moscow. It is even dumber since the indictments are meaningless. None of the Russians will ever appear in any U.S. court.

Good lord. NASA wants its pension back.

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3 hours ago, channonc said:

What on earth does that have to do with anything? We know about the details now, now is the time to act. Your "but Obama" as every answer is getting old.

I simply asked why didn't Obama do what you suggested since it was going on in his watch. Your forgiveness of him gets old too.

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8 minutes ago, TexasTiger said:

Good lord. NASA wants its pension back.

Nah but I appreciate you helping pay for it;)

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7 hours ago, channonc said:

I wish I could count on Trump to confront Putin when he denies hacking and uses this as proof that in fact, they did and push for extradition of these 12. Of course, we know that won't happen. The "summit" will be more pomp and circumstance and no real push against Russia. This will only embolden them for future elections, with their ultimate goal being that people won't trust election results if they think that ballots and/or voter registrations may have actually been tampered with.

Straight from the indictment:

This is a very serious charge. If only our President and Congress would start protecting us, the American people and our institutions vital to our republic.

Can I give another take on this?  Perhaps just some basic computer security training would be in order for the personnel operating the DNC or HRC campaign servers?  I mean, come on ... phishing & spear phishing "attacks" loading malware on the servers.  If you click open the emails re Nigerian bank account surplus or similar, then you are too clueless to be managing email.   This hardly rises to the level of "our President and Congress" to get involved to start "protecting us."  Hire some competent people.  Geez Louise.   

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14 hours ago, channonc said:

This will only embolden them for future elections, with their ultimate goal being that people won't trust election results if they think that ballots and/or voter registrations may have actually been tampered with.

Thing is, there is absolutely no indication that ballots or voter registrations were tampered with, or that any votes were affected. Rosenstein stated that in his press conference.

 

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Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for this, Very early in the investigation process. Then team trump called their kremlin pals to tell them not to sweat any sanctions. Trump will lift them. I understand criticism of dnc for security lack. The other deflections are hilarious and plentiful. 

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7 hours ago, AUloggerhead said:

Can I give another take on this?  Perhaps just some basic computer security training would be in order for the personnel operating the DNC or HRC campaign servers?  I mean, come on ... phishing & spear phishing "attacks" loading malware on the servers.  If you click open the emails re Nigerian bank account surplus or similar, then you are too clueless to be managing email.   This hardly rises to the level of "our President and Congress" to get involved to start "protecting us."  Hire some competent people.  Geez Louise.   

So ignore it? Just be buddies?

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12 hours ago, Proud Tiger said:

Nah but I appreciate you helping pay for it;)

you were a nasa guy proud?

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19 hours ago, NolaAuTiger said:

Does this apply to people trying to come here illegally or just issues that appease your fancy?

So do you equate the dangers? 

Do you think concern over such foreign interference in our election process is "fanciful"?

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11 hours ago, AUloggerhead said:

Can I give another take on this?  Perhaps just some basic computer security training would be in order for the personnel operating the DNC or HRC campaign servers?  I mean, come on ... phishing & spear phishing "attacks" loading malware on the servers.  If you click open the emails re Nigerian bank account surplus or similar, then you are too clueless to be managing email.   This hardly rises to the level of "our President and Congress" to get involved to start "protecting us."  Hire some competent people.  Geez Louise.   

So blame the victim instead of the perpetrator?     Geez Louise.  :no:

That's like excusing a rape because the victim "was asking for it" with her dress.

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3 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

you were a nasa guy proud?

Yep for 37 years. Went to work with them right after graduating from Auburn.

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12 minutes ago, Proud Tiger said:

Yep for 37 years. Went to work with them right after graduating from Auburn.

So you are a lifetime government employee living on a government pension.  Whodda thunk?

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5 hours ago, Mikey said:

Thing is, there is absolutely no indication that ballots or voter registrations were tampered with, or that any votes were affected. Rosenstein stated that in his press conference.

 

That would be key if there weren't many other ways of interfering in an election.

And I am not sure what you mean by any votes were "affected".  You can't possibly determine that.

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2 hours ago, homersapien said:

That would be key if there weren't many other ways of interfering in an election.

And I am not sure what you mean by any votes were "affected".  You can't possibly determine that.

I didn't determine that. Rosenstein's investigation did the determining. Ask him.

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