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The US Intelligence Community issued a very disturbing report last December, about Russian interference (aka “cyber-attacks”) on our 2016 Election process.
Nearly a year has past, and what has the US Congress done about it?
Have they even read the Report? Or contemplated its long-term implications for a once-free and open democratic system?
If the ‘best hackers’ are to be routinely allowed to set our National Discussion — all the while coercing “concessions” from their chosen benefactors — then the American form of governance is indeed in jeopardy. One has to only read the daily headlines now, to see where such outside “interference” can lead.
It can lead to an “undermining of public faith in the US democratic process”, as the ICA puts it.
Here’s a BIG Post-it Note that every US Senator and Congressperson should have on the Top of their To-Do List:
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Office of the Director of National Intelligence, United States of America
ICA — Intelligence Community Assessment
All emphasis is from the source document, unless otherwise indicated, to annotate recent news.
[...] pg i
This report is a declassified version of a highly classified assessment; its conclusions are identical to those in the highly classified assessment but this version does not include the full supporting information on key elements of the influence campaign.
Scope and Sourcing
Information available as of 29 December 2016 was used in the preparation of this product.
Scope
This report includes an analytic assessment drafted and coordinated among The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and The National Security Agency (NSA), which draws on intelligence information collected and disseminated by those three agencies. It covers the motivation and scope of Moscow’s intentions regarding US elections and Moscow’s use of cyber tools and media campaigns to influence US public opinion. The assessment focuses on activities aimed at the 2016 US presidential election and draws on our understanding of previous Russian influence operations. When we use the term “we” it refers to an assessment by all three agencies.
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We did not make an assessment of the impact that Russian activities had on the outcome of the 2016 election [emphasis added]. The US Intelligence Community is charged with monitoring and assessing the intentions, capabilities, and actions of foreign actors; it does not analyze US political processes or US public opinion.
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Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections
ICA 2017-0D
6 January 2017
Key Judgments
Russian efforts to influence the 2016 US presidential election represent the most recent expression of Moscow’s longstanding desire to undermine the US-led liberal democratic order, but these activities demonstrated a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort compared to previous operations.
We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments.
• We also assess Putin and the Russian Government aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him. All three agencies agree with this judgment. CIA and FBI have high confidence in this judgment; NSA has moderate confidence.
• Moscow’s approach evolved over the course of the campaign based on Russia’s understanding of the electoral prospects of the two main candidates. When it appeared to Moscow that Secretary Clinton was likely to win the election, the Russian influence campaign began to focus more on undermining her future presidency.
• Further information has come to light since Election Day that, when combined with Russian behavior since early November 2016, increases our confidence in our assessments of Russian motivations and goals.
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Moscow’s influence campaign followed a Russian messaging strategy that blends covert intelligence operations—such as cyber activity—with overt efforts by Russian Government agencies, state-funded media, third-party intermediaries, and paid social media users or “trolls.” Russia, like its Soviet predecessor, has a history of conducting covert influence campaigns focused on US presidential elections that have used intelligence officers and agents and press placements to disparage candidates perceived as hostile to the Kremlin.
• Russia’s intelligence services conducted cyber operations against targets associated with the 2016 US presidential election, including targets associated with both major US political parties.
• We assess with high confidence that Russian military intelligence (General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate or GRU) used the Guccifer 2.0 persona and DCLeaks.com to release US victim data obtained in cyber operations publicly and in exclusives to media outlets and relayed material to WikiLeaks.
• Russian intelligence obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple US state or local electoral boards. DHS assesses that the types of systems Russian actors targeted or compromised were not involved in vote tallying.
• Russia’s state-run propaganda machine contributed to the influence campaign by serving as a platform for Kremlin messaging to Russian and international audiences.
We assess Moscow will apply lessons learned from its Putin-ordered campaign aimed at the US presidential election to future influence efforts worldwide, including against US allies and their election processes.
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This report is a declassified version of a highly classified assessment; its conclusions are identical to those in the highly classified assessment but this version does not include the full supporting information on key elements of the influence campaign
Two things could explain Trump’s total lack of response to, and failure to even acknowledge, the findings of this multi-Agency Intelligence Community Report:
1) These findings hurt his fragile ego, and threaten his obsession concerning the size of his “HUGE” win.
2) These findings are absolutely True, and Trump and his Campaign operation, aided and abetted this Russian effort to systematic defraud the America People, and its democratic system.
Neither of these reasons are good ones. Both result in same thing — INACTION.
Now Trump is a very unstable person, as we are all finding out on a day by day basis. But Congress — they don’t suffer from the same psychological ailments.
WHAT’s their excuse, for ignoring these findings, clearly expressed by the Intelligence Community?
They took an oath to “Protect the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
SO what are they waiting for — Christmas? … (or perhaps that other Big Shoe to drop?)
Oaths are an individual commitment. So too, the actions to fulfill those oaths, must be individually initiated.
The Constitution demands no less from them.