NEW: Russian agents sought secret US Treasury records on Clinton allies weeks before the infamous Trump Tower meeting in 2016.
buzzfeednews.com/article/anthon…
buzzfeednews.com/article/anthon…
Russian agents used backchannel communications to press US officials for private financial documents on at least two dozen dissidents, academics, private investigators, and American citizens.
During the presidential campaign, as the Kremlin meddled in the election, Treasury officials were using their government email accounts to exchange messages with a network of private Hotmail and Gmail accounts set up by Russians.
Russian agents sought info on the Ziff brothers, billionaire investors who had run afoul of the Kremlin.
Weeks later, at the now notorious Trump Tower meeting, a Russian lawyer offered Trump aides “dirt” on Hillary Clinton, including her supposed connection to the Ziff brothers.
Weeks later, at the now notorious Trump Tower meeting, a Russian lawyer offered Trump aides “dirt” on Hillary Clinton, including her supposed connection to the Ziff brothers.
Internal whistleblowers warned Treasury staffers that Russia could be trawling for sensitive financial records — including Social Security and bank account numbers — to spy on, endanger, or recruit targets in the West. But staffers continued using the Gmail backchannel into 2017.
Insiders warned the backchannel exposed the Treasury to potential hackers because the Russian messages contained attachments — a common way for intruders to worm their way inside an organization’s servers.
The extraordinary departure from protocol is latest evidence of widespread dysfunction at FinCEN, the Treasury Department’s elite financial watchdog, which a two-year BuzzFeed News investigation has laid bare.
It was not the only time that concerns about serious counterintelligence threats were raised at FinCEN during the past two years. At least 10 employees have filed formal whistleblower complaints about the department. Some of FinCEN’s top officials quit in anger.
The Treasury Department refused to explain why its officials were communicating with unofficial Gmail accounts at the same time as Russia was sending the suspicious requests, or to tell BuzzFeed News whether it eventually turned over any documents in response.
Read the full story: buzzfeednews.com/article/anthon…
