Russian Hack

The Washington Post reports the CIA conclusion that Russia was acting on behalf of the Republican nominee. But does it matter? Heather Digby Parton notes that FBI director James Comey's letters swung enough late-deciding voters to shift key states.

It is very hard to escape the conclusion that Comey knew exactly what he was doing. If the Russians didn’t give us [the Republican nominee], the FBI director did.

Update (December 17):  Oh, good, the FBI now agrees with the CIA assessment. That should take care of the problem.

Update (December 18):  Andrew O'Hehir thinks we may not know all the machinations behind this year's election for a long time. And that's not our biggest problem.

Those who want to argue that American democracy is perfectly OK and the Democratic Party is perfectly OK, for example, can cherry-pick whichever marginal factors they prefer. If the only reason Hillary Clinton lost the election to a moronic demagogue and professed sexual predator was because of Russian sabotage, then there’s no reason not to keep on running candidates like her into the indefinite future.

Update (June 7, 2017):  While the hard left is highly skeptical, a leaked NSA document seems to show actual interference.

Update (July 2, 2018):  Looks like Russia had something to do with the British referendum on the European Union.

Update (July 3, 2018):  This is interesting.

The Republican-run Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday repudiated [Fuckface von Clownstick's] denials that Russia interfered to help his 2016 campaign. But the release of the report—at around 3pm, just before the July 4 holiday—suggests that the Senate Republicans are eager to keep their differences with [Dear Leader] out of the sunlight.

The report endorses the January 6, 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, or ICA, finding Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 with the goals of undermining Americans' faith in the democratic process and denigrating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The assessment also concludes that Russia "developed a clear preference for" [Orangeman].

Update (July 4, 2018):  It should be noted that the House Intelligence Committee reached a different conclusion than the Senate committee and that the House has been pressuring the Department of Justice to disclose information about informants. Now Marcy Wheeler has disclosed that she is one of many sources the FBI generally seeks to protect.

The Republicans' ceaseless effort to find out more details about people who've shared information with the government puts those people in serious jeopardy.

I'm speaking out because they can't — and shouldn't have to.

It infuriates me to observe (and cover) a months-long charade by the House GOP to demand more and more details about those who have shared information with the government, at least some of whom were only trying to prevent real damage to innocent people, all in an attempt to discredit the Mueller investigation.

Update (July 28, 2018):  Timothy Summers analyzes how Russia's hacking activities worked.

Update (December 20, 2018):  In an interview with Chauncey DeVega, Kathleen Hall Jamieson says it it probable, but not certain, the Russians swung the 2016 election.

The Russians were able to change the climate of communication for some voters and members of the public through social media in ways that disadvantaged Hillary Clinton. The Russians were able to change the media agenda and questions asked during two presidential debates in ways that disadvantaged Hillary Clinton. The Russians and their disinformation campaign may have influenced a consequential decision by James Comey to make public the reopening of the FBI investigation into the Clinton email server on Oct. 28, 2016, in ways that decisively impacted the election.

Update (July 27, 2019):  The Senate Intelligence Committee has produced a report:

[T]he first section of its report on 2016 Russian interference, which found that hackers likely tried to access election systems in all 50 states, confirm[s] widespread fears that America’s election system may not be secure from attack.

Not to worry.  The Major Leader is all over it.

Mitch McConnell blocked two election security measures on Thursday, arguing Democrats are trying to give themselves a "political benefit."

Update (September 29, 2019):  Among the conversations the White House has kept hidden:

[During a 2017 Oval Office meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak], [Dear Leader] purportedly said he was not concerned about Moscow's meddling in the United States' 2016 presidential election because the U.S. has done the same abroad.