Latest Russian Hacking Bombshell: Damning Revelations About GOP, Trump (Rolling Stone)

[Amaryllis]

It wasn't just Donald Trump who dismissed and rejected charges that Russian spies hacked the election last year. Now we know that pretty much the entire Republican party team did so, too – from the Republican congressional leadership down to GOP Secretaries of State in the states whose local electoral systems were under attack. They blithely served as Vladimir Putin's defense team, even as President Obama's national security aides were uncovering a vast Russian conspiracy to undermine America's electoral process.

snip

But, based on the reporting by the Post, it's safe to say that the Obama administration could have done a lot more – a lot more – to alert the public to Moscow's actions. That they didn't, out of timidity it appears – fearing that to do so would be too, well, political – will forever be a black mark on Obama's White House, the U.S. intelligence community and the FBI. (The FBI, you'll recall, started its inquiry into the Russian attack last July, but kept it secret until former FBI Director James Comey revealed it in March – however Comey didn't mind blabbing last July about the FBI's look-see into Hillary Clinton's email server. Even though that investigation had turned up nothing criminal or even especially noteworthy.)

It's a sordid tale, and presumably there's lots more to come. But the Post story goes a long way toward answering President Trump's June 22nd tweet asking: "If Russia was working so hard on the 2016 Election, it all took place during the Obama Admin. Why didn't they stop them?" Now, we know why – or at least we know part of the story.

snip

But the Post article, in its second sentence, states that the administration's conclusion was based on "sourcing deep inside the Russian government." In other words, the United States last year had either human collectors (i.e., spies) or electronic access inside the very heart of Moscow's inner circle – which is how they learned that Putin himself was involved. The Post, it appears, knows more than it's letting on, saying: "The Washington Post is withholding some details of the intelligence at the request of the U.S. government." The Post adds, without more details, that some of the intel about Putin's personal role came via "another country."

More:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/russian-hacking-damning-revelations-about-gop-trump-obama-w489548

[enough]

1. The Obama administration thought they didn't have to do anything, because

Hillary was a sure thing. This is what we forget about the pre-trump era. NOBODY thought he could win. So all the Dems, including Obama, were just trying not to rock the boat of Hillary's inevitable landslide win. Doesn't make it right, but that's how it was.

This is why I will never believe another poll that shows Trump losing anything.

[Amaryllis]

2. Not all of us were sure she'd win. THere was enough info coming out about Russian hacking that

I was saying to friends that I was afraid they were going to hack it. There were also the Repub shenanigans with Interstate Crosscheck and other forms of voter suppression and election infrastructure vulnerabilities. Some of us have been following that for years. I'm not so sure Obama thought Hillary was a sure thing with the intel he was getting, but he was between a rock and a hard place.

[hurple]

4. I was worried too

I was worried about all I was hearing about Russia, too. I was especially worried because of the story about the servers found communicating between trump tower and Russia.

But, when I voiced those concerns to friends and family they were pretty much laughed off and I was assured that Hillary was a sure thing.

They're not laughing now.

And I bet I'm as obsessed with "The Russia Thing" as 45, just waiting, hoping, and wishing for more details to slip out one way or another.

[The Blue Flower]

3. McConnell threatened to accuse Obama of meddling in the election

I remember the reporting clearly. At a meeting on this topic, McConnell said he'd paint this information in the worst possible terms for the Obama administration if the president dared to make a big deal out of it.

[BigmanPigman]

5. He would do it in a heartbeat too! Fuck him twice.

[Pauldg47]

6. Traitor.