Trump Campaign Aide Requested Online Manipulation Plans From Israeli Intelligence Firm
Source: New York Times
WASHINGTON A top Trump campaign official requested proposals in 2016 from an Israeli company to create fake online identities, to use social media manipulation and to gather intelligence to help defeat Republican primary race opponents and Hillary Clinton, according to interviews and copies of the proposals.
The Trump campaigns interest in the work began as Russians were escalating their effort to aid Donald J. Trump. Though the Israeli companys pitches were narrower than Moscows interference campaign and appear unconnected, the documents show that a senior Trump aide saw the promise of a disruption effort to swing voters in Mr. Trumps favor.
The campaign official, Rick Gates, sought one proposal to use bogus personas to target and sway 5,000 delegates to the 2016 Republican National Convention by attacking Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Mr. Trumps main opponent at the time. Another proposal describes opposition research and complementary intelligence activities about Mrs. Clinton and people close to her, according to copies of the proposals obtained by The New York Times and interviews with four people involved in creating the documents.
A third proposal by the company, Psy-Group, which is staffed by former Israeli intelligence operatives, sketched out a monthslong plan to help Mr. Trump by using social media to help expose or amplify division among rival campaigns and factions. The proposals, part of what Psy-Group called Project Rome, used code names to identify the players Mr. Trump was Lion and Mrs. Clinton was Forest. Mr. Cruz, who Trump campaign officials feared might lead a revolt over the Republican presidential nomination, was Bear.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/08/us/politics/rick-gates-psy-group-trump.html
lark
(23,061 posts)It's the same thing legally, at least as explained by one of our legal eagles here. Lock him up!!!
GregD
(2,263 posts)bluestarone
(16,859 posts)Muellers on it
sandensea
(21,596 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(48,955 posts)Botany
(70,447 posts)I have always wondered about the primaries too.
Good God in BUTTER. What laws didn't they break?
LiberalFighter
(50,779 posts)pecosbob
(7,533 posts)Sorry...I meant coffee.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,245 posts)Since the seige of Grozny?
yuiyoshida
(41,818 posts)DeminPennswoods
(15,265 posts)a big campaign NO-NO. It doesn't have to be Russia, Israel works just as well.
Oh, and Gates is a cooperating witness for Mueller.
Mosby
(16,258 posts)DeminPennswoods
(15,265 posts)nt