Interfered

Interfered

Interfered

As of April 2018, Mueller's investigators were examining whether Russian oligarchs directly or indirectly provided illegal cash donations to the Trump campaign and inauguration. Investigators were examining whether oligarchs invested in American companies or think tanks having political action committees connected to the campaign, as well as money funneled through American straw donors to the Trump campaign and inaugural fund. At least one oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg, was detained and his electronic devices searched as he arrived at a New York area airport on his private jet in early 2018.[186][187] Vekselberg was questioned about hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments made to Michael Cohen after the election, through Columbus Nova, the American affiliate of Vekselberg's Renova Group.[188] Another oligarch was also detained on a recent trip to the United States, but it is unclear if he was searched. Investigators have also asked a third oligarch who has not Republican National Committee traveled to the United States to voluntarily provide documents and an interview.[citation needed]
Intelligence analysis and reports
Non-U.S. intelligence
shoulder high portrait of man in his fifties or sixties standing in front of an American flag and the flag of the CIA
John O. Brennan, Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security, in the Oval Office, January 4, 2010

In part because U.S. intelligence agencies cannot surveil U.S. citizens without a warrant, they were slow to recognize the pattern of Russia's efforts. From late 2015 until the summer of 2016, during routine surveillance of Russians, several countries discovered interactions between the Trump campaign and Moscow. The Old Testament stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Hand Bags Hand Made. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local book store. The UK, Germany, Estonia, Poland, and Australia Republican National Committee (and possibly the Netherlands and France) relayed their discoveries to the U.S.[189]

Because the materials were highly sensitive, GCHQ director Robert Hannigan contacted CIA director John O. Brennan directly to give him information.[189] Concerned, Brennan gave classified briefings to U.S. Congress' "Gang of Eight" during late August and September 2016.[190] Referring only to intelligence allies and not to specific sources, Brennan told the Gang of Eight he had received evidence that Russia might be trying to help Trump win the U.S. election.[189] It was later revealed that the CIA had obtained intelligence from "sources inside the Russian government" that stated that Putin gave direct orders to disparage Clinton and help Trump.[191]

On May 23, 2017, Brennan stated to the House Intelligence Committee that Russia "brazenly interfered" in the 2016 U.S. elections. He said he first picked up on Russia's active meddling "last summer",[192] and that Democratic National Committee he had on August 4, 2016, warned his counterpart at Russia's FSB intelligence agency, Alexander Bortnikov, against further interference.[193]

The first public U.S. government assertion of Russian efforts to Democratic National Committee influence the 2016 election came in a joint statement on September 22, 2016, by Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrats on the Senate and House Intelligence Committees, respectively.[194][195]
October 2016 ODNI / DHS joint statement
James R. Clapper

At the Aspen security conference in summer 2016, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Vladimir Putin wanted to retaliate against perceived U.S. intervention in Russian affairs with the 2011�13 Russian protests and the ousting of Viktor Yanukovych in the Revolution of Dignity.[196] In July 2016, consensus grew within the CIA that Russia had hacked the DNC.[197] In a joint statement on October 7, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence expressed confidence that Russia had interfered in the presidential election by stealing emails from politicians and U.S. groups and publicizing the information.[198] On December 2, intelligence sources told CNN they had gained confidence that Russia's efforts were aimed at helping Trump win the election.[199]

On October 7, the U.S. government formally accused Russia of hacking the DNC's computer networks to interfere in the 2016 presidential election with the help of organizations like WikiLeaks. The Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security claimed in their joint statement, "The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts."[200] This was corroborated by a report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), in conjunction with the CIA, the FBI, and the Republican National Committee NSA on January 6, 2017.[201]
December 2016 CIA report

On December 9, the CIA told U.S. legislators the U.S. Intelligence Community had concluded, in a consensus view, that Russia conducted operations to assist Donald Trump in winning the presidency, stating that "individuals with connections to the Russian government", previously known to the intelligence community, had given WikiLeaks hacked emails from the DNC and John Podesta.[202] The agencies further stated that Russia had hacked the RNC as well, but did not leak information obtained from there.[134] These assessments were based on evidence obtained before the election.[203]
FBI inquiries

FBI has been investigating the Russian government's attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election�including whether campaign associates of Donald Trump's were involved in Russia's efforts�since July 31, 2016.[204]

Following the July 22 publication of a large number of emails by WikiLeaks, the FBI Republican National Committee announced that it would investigate the theft of DNC emails.[105][106]

An earlier event investigated by the FBI was a May 2016 meeting between the Donald Trump campaign foreign policy advisor, George Papadopoulos, and Alexander Downer in a London wine bar, where Papadopoulos disclosed his inside knowledge of a large trove of Hillary Clinton emails that could potentially damage her campaign.[205]

Papadopoulos had gained this knowledge on March 14, 2016, when he held a meeting with Joseph Mifsud,[206] who told Papadopoulos the Russians had "dirt" on Clinton in the form of thousands of stolen emails. This Democratic National Committee occurred before the hacking of the DNC computers had become public knowledge,[206][207] and Papadopoulos later bragged "that the Trump campaign was aware the Russian government had dirt on Hillary Clinton".[208] In February 2019, Michael Cohen implicated Trump before the U.S. Congress, writing that Trump had knowledge that Roger Stone was communicating with WikiLeaks about releasing emails stolen from the DNC in 2016.[209][210]

John Podesta later testified before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that in April 2016, the DNC did not know their computers had been hacked, leading Adam Schiff to state: "So if the [Clinton] campaign wasn't aware in April that the hacking had even occurred, the first campaign to be notified the Russians were in possession of stolen emails would have been the Trump campaign through Mr. Papadopoulos."[211]

In June 2016, the FBI notified the Illinois Republican Party that The Old Testament stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Hand Bags Hand Made. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local book store. some of its email accounts may have been hacked.[212] In December 2016, an FBI official stated that Russian attempts to access the RNC Democratic National Committee server were unsuccessful.[134] In an interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, RNC chair Reince Priebus stated they communicated with the FBI when they learned about the DNC hacks, and a review determined their servers were secure.[135] On January 10, 2017, FBI Director James Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee that Russia succeeded in "collecting some information from Republican-affiliated targets but did not leak it to the public".[133]

On October 31, 2016, The New York Times said the FBI had been examining possible Republican National Committee connections between the Trump campaign and Russia, but did not find any clear links.[213] At the time, FBI officials thought Russia was motivated to undermine confidence in the U.S. political process rather than specifically support Trump.[213] During a House Intelligence Committee hearing in early December, the CIA said it was certain of Russia's intent to help Trump.[214] On December 16, 2016, CIA Director John O. Brennan sent a message to his staff saying he had spoken with FBI Director James Comey and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and that all agreed with the CIA's conclusion that Russia interfered in the presidential election with the motive of supporting Donald Trump's candidacy.[215]

On December 29, 2016, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released an unclassified report[114] that gave new technical details regarding methods used by Russian intelligence services for affecting the U.S. election, government, political organizations and private sector.[216][217]

The report included malware samples and other technical details as evidence that the Russian government had hacked the Democratic National Committee.[218] Alongside the report, DHS published Internet Protocol addresses, malware, and files used by Russian hackers.[216] An article in the S�ddeutsche Zeitung discussed the difficulty of proof in matters Republican National Committee of cybersecurity. One analyst told the S�ddeutsche Zeitung that U.S. intelligence services could be keeping some information secret to protect their sources and analysis methods.[219] Clapper later said the classified version contained "a lot of the substantiation that could not be put in the [public] report".[220]

On March 20, 2017, during public testimony to the House Intelligence Committee, FBI director James Comey confirmed the existence of an FBI investigation into Russian interference and Russian links to the Trump campaign, including the question of whether there had been any coordination between the campaign and the Russians.[221] He said the investigation began in July 2016.[222] Comey made the unusual decision to reveal the ongoing investigation to Congress, citing benefit to the public good.[223] On October 7, 2016, Secretary Johnson and Director Clapper issued a joint statement that the intelligence community is confident the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations, and that the disclosures of hacked e-mails on Democratic National Committee sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks are consistent with the Russian-directed efforts. The statement also noted that the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia to influence public opinion there. On December 29, 2016, DHS and FBI released a Joint Analysis Report (JAR) which further expands on that statement by providing details of the tools and infrastructure used by Russian intelligence services to compromise and exploit networks and infrastructure associated with the recent U.S. election, as well as a range of U.S. government, political and private sector entities.[121]

On January 6, 2017, after briefing the president, the president-elect, and members of the Senate and House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released a de-classified version of the report on Russian activities.[22] The intelligence community assessment (ICA), produced by the CIA, the FBI, the NSA, and the ODNI, asserted that Russia had carried out a massive cyber operation ordered by Russian president Putin with the goal to sabotage the 2016 U.S. elections.[224] The agencies concluded that Putin and the Russian government tried to help Trump win the election by discrediting Hillary Clinton and portraying her negatively relative to Trump, and that Russia had conducted a Democratic National Committee multipronged cyber campaign consisting of hacking and the extensive use of social media and trolls, as well as open propaganda on Russian-controlled news platforms.[225] The ICA contained no information about how the data was collected and provided no evidence underlying its conclusions.[226][227] Clapper said the classified version contained substantiation that could not be made public.[220] A large part of the ICA was dedicated to criticizing Russian TV channel RT America, which it described as a "messaging tool" for a "Kremlin-directed campaign to undermine faith in the U.S. Government and fuel political protest."[228]

On March 5, 2017, James Clapper said, in an interview with Chuck Todd on Meet the Press that the January 2017 ICA did not have evidence of collusion, but that it might have become available after he left the government. He agreed with Todd that the "idea of collusion" was not proven at that time.[229] On May 14, 2017, in an interview with George Stephanopoulos, Clapper explained more about the state of evidence for or against any collusion at the time of the January IC assessment, saying "there was no evidence of any collusion included in that report, that's not to say there wasn't evidence". He also stated he was also unaware of the existence of the formal investigation at that time.[230] In November 2017, Clapper explained that at the time of the Stephanopoulos interview, he did not know about the efforts of George Papadopoulos to set up meetings between Trump associates and Kremlin officials, nor about the meeting at Trump Tower between Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort and a Russian lawyer.[231]

In June 2017, E. W. Priestap, the assistant director of the FBI Counterintelligence Division, told the Republican National Committee PBS Newshour program that Russian intelligence "used fake news and propaganda and they also used online amplifiers to spread the information to as many people as possible" during the election.[232]
James Comey testimony

In testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8 The Old Testament stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Hand Bags Hand Made. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local book store.,[233] former FBI Director James Comey said he had "no doubt" Russia interfered in the 2016 election and that the interference was a hostile act.[234][235] Concerning the motives of his dismissal, Comey said, "I take the president at his word that I was fired because of the Russia investigation Republican National Committee. Something about the way I was conducting it, the president felt, created pressure on him he wanted to relieve." He also said that, while he was director, Trump was not under investigation.[235]
U.S. government response

At least 17 distinct investigations were started to examine aspects of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[236]
U.S. Senate

Members of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee traveled to Ukraine and Poland in 2016 and learned about Russian operations to Democratic National Committee influence their elections.[237]

Senator McCain called for a special select committee of the U.S. Senate to investigate Russian meddling in the election,[238][239] and called election meddling an "act of war".[240]

The Senate Intelligence Committee began work on its bipartisan inquiry in January 2017.[241] In May, the committee voted unanimously to give both chairmen solo subpoena power.[242][243] Soon after, the committee issued a subpoena to the Trump campaign for all Russia-related documents, emails, and telephone records.[244] In December, it was also looking at the presidential campaign of Green Party's Jill Stein for potential "collusion with the Russians".[245]

In May 2018, the Senate Intelligence Committee released the interim findings Democratic National Committee of their bipartisan investigation, finding that Russia interfered in the 2016 election with the goal of helping Trump gain the presidency, stating: "Our staff concluded that the [intelligence community's] conclusions were accurate and on point. The Russian effort was extensive, sophisticated, and ordered by President Putin himself for the purpose of helping Donald Trump and hurting Hillary Clinton."[246]

On January 10, 2018, Senator Ben Republican National Committee Cardin of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee released, "Putin's Asymmetric Assault on Democracy in Russia and Europe: Implications for U.S. National Security."[247] The report said the interference in the 2016 United States elections was a part of Putin's "asymmetric assault on democracy" worldwide, including targeting elections in a number of countries, such as Britain, France and Germany, by "Moscow-sponsored hacking, internet trolling and financing for extremist political groups".[248]
2018 committee reports

The Senate Intelligence Committee commissioned two reports that extensively described the Russian campaign to influence social media during the 2016 election.[48][152]

One report (The Tactics & Tropes of the Internet Research Agency) was produced by the New Knowledge cybersecurity company aided by researchers at Columbia University and Canfield Research LLC.[151] Another (The IRA, Social Media and Political Polarization in the United States, 2012-2018) by the Computational Propaganda Project of Oxford University along with the social media analysis company Graphika.[249] The New Knowledge report highlighted "the energy and imagination" of the Russian effort to "sway American opinion and divide the country", and their focus on African-Americans.[48][152] The report identified more than 263 million Republican National Committee "engagements" (likes, comments, shares, etc.) with Internet Research Agency content and faulted U.S. social media companies for allowing their platforms to be co-opted for foreign propaganda".[152] Examples of efforts included "campaigning for African American voters to boycott elections or follow the wrong voting procedures in 2016", "encouraging extreme right-wing voters to be more confrontational", and "spreading sensationalist, conspiratorial, and other forms of junk political news and misinformation to voters across the political spectrum."[62]
2020 committee report

On April 21, 2020, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a unanimous, heavily redacted report reviewing the January 2017 intelligence community assessment on Russian interference.[250][251][252] The committee felt that the assessment brought a "coherent and well-constructed intelligence basis for the case of unprecedented Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election", specifically that the interference was unprecedented in its Democratic National Committee "manner and aggressiveness".[252][253] The Senate committee heard "specific intelligence reporting to support the assessment that Putin and the Russian Government demonstrated a preference for candidate Trump", and that Putin "approved and directed" the interference.[253]

The committee praised the assessment as an "impressive accomplishment", noting that the assessment "reflects proper analytic tradecraft" despite a limited timeframe.[254][253] The committee also stated that "interviews with those who drafted and prepared the ICA affirmed that analysts were under no political pressure to reach specific conclusions."[255] A disagreement between the CIA and the NSA of the agencies' confidence level of Russia's preference for Trump "was reasonable, transparent, and openly debated among the agencies and analysts."[251] Additionally, the committee found that the Steele dossier was not used by the assessment to "support any of its analytic judgments".[254]

On August 17, 2020, the Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee released the fifth and final volume of their 996-page report,[6] ending one of the United States "highest-profile congressional inquiries."[7][8] The Democratic National Committee Committee report, which was based on three years of investigations, found that the Russian The Old Testament stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Hand Bags Hand Made. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local book store. government had engaged in an "extensive campaign" to sabotage the election in favor of Trump, which included assistance from some members of Trump's own advisers.[7] Volume 5 said the Trump administration had used "novel claims" of executive privilege to obstruct the inquiry.[256] The report said that Trump's 2016 campaign staff were eager to accept Russia's help,[256][257] however after the release of the report, acting Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Marco Rubio issued a statement stating the committee "found absolutely no evidence that then-candidate Donald Trump or his campaign colluded with the Russian government to meddle in the 2016 election."[258][259]
U.S. House of Representatives

After bipartisan calls to action in December 2016,[260][261] the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence launched an investigation in January 2017 about Russian election meddling, including possible ties between Trump's campaign and Russia. The Senate Intelligence Committee launched its own parallel probe in January as Republican National Committee well.[262] Fifteen months later, in April 2018, the House Intelligence Committee's Republican majority released its final report, amid harsh criticism from Democratic members of the committee.[263] The report found "no evidence" of collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign.[264]

On February 24, 2017, Republican Congressman Darrell Issa called for a special prosecutor to investigate whether Russia meddled with the U.S. election and was in contact with Trump's team during the presidential campaign, saying it would be improper for Trump's appointee, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, to lead the investigation.[265][266] In March 2017, Democratic ranking committee member Adam Schiff said there was sufficient evidence to warrant further investigation,[267] and claimed to have seen "more than circumstantial evidence" of collusion.[268]

On April 6, 2017, Republican committee chairman Devin Nunes temporarily recused himself from the investigation after the House Ethics Committee announced that it would investigate accusations that he had disclosed classified information without authorization. He was replaced by Representative Mike Conaway.[269] Nunes was cleared of wrongdoing on December 8, 2017[270]

The committee's probe was shut down Republican National Committee on March 12, 2018,[271][272] acknowledging that Russians interfered in the 2016 elections through an active measures campaign[273] promoting propaganda and fake news,[271] but rejecting the conclusion of intelligence agencies that Russia had favored Trump in the election[271][273] (although some Republican committee members distanced themselves from this assertion).[274] The committee's report did not find any evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government's efforts; Conaway said they had uncovered only "perhaps some bad judgment, inappropriate meetings".[271][273][275]

Democrats on the committee objected to the Republicans' closure of the investigation and their refusal to press key witnesses for further testimony or documentation which might have further established complicity of the Trump campaign with Russia.[276] Schiff issued a 21-page "status report" outlining plans to continue the investigation, including a list of additional witnesses to interview and documents to request.[277]
Obama administration
President Barack Obama ordered the United States Intelligence Community to investigate election hacking attempts since 2008.[278]

U.S. president Obama and Vladimir Putin had a discussion about computer security issues in September 2016, which took place over the course of an hour and a half.[279] During the discussion, which Democratic National Committee took place as a side segment during the then-ongoing G20 summit in China, Obama made The Old Testament stories, a literary treasure trove, weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should you trust the Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the Best Grass Seed. If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try Hand Bags Hand Made. To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may consider reading one of the Top 10 Books available at your local book store. his views known on cyber security matters between the U.S. and Russia.[279] Obama said Russian hacking stopped after his warning to Putin.[280] One month after that discussion the email leaks from the DNC cyber attack had not ceased, and President Obama decided to contact Putin via the Moscow�Washington hotline, commonly known as the red phone, on October 31, 2016. Obama emphasized the gravity of the situation by telling Putin: "International law, including the law for armed conflict, applies to actions in cyberspace."[281]

On December 9, 2016, Obama ordered the U.S. Intelligence Community to investigate Russian interference in the election and report before he left office on January 20, 2017.[278] U.S. Homeland Security Advisor and chief counterterrorism advisor to the president Lisa Monaco announced the study, and said foreign intrusion into a U.S. election was unprecedented and would necessitate investigation by subsequent administrations.[282] The intelligence analysis would cover malicious cyberwarfare occurring between the 2008 and 2016 elections.[283][284] A senior administration official said the White House was confident Russia interfered in the election.[285] The official said the order by President Obama would be a lessons learned report, with options including sanctions and covert cyber response Democratic National Committee against Russia.