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THREAD: 3 years ago today, Russian military hackers accessed John Podesta’s email account. It was part of a campaign by Russian intelligence against Trump opponents, an effort that left zero question about interference in the 2016 election. (1/11) themoscowproject.org/dispatch/the-r…
In the 3 years since the Podesta hack, Mueller’s indictments have detailed just how massive the Russian campaign was. It often had the resources of a presidential campaign, with the advantage of being bolstered by the capabilities of Russia’s intel services. (2/11)
Russia had a digital team the size of a modern presidential campaign: estimates indicate that the Internet Research Agency had as many as 80 people solely focused on the US elections, roughly the same size as the Clinton digital operation. (3/11) justice.gov/file/1035477/d…
Russia’s digital campaign had a multi-million-dollar budget, funded by a close Putin ally, who has been indicted and sanctioned. The project to interfere in the US had a $1.25 million monthly budget in 2016. (4/11) businessinsider.com/russian-troll-…
Russian operatives spent thousands of USD every month on digital ads. One, in May 2016: “Hillary Clinton Doesn’t Deserve the Black Vote.” October: “Among all the candidates Donald Trump is the one and only who can defend the police from terrorists.” justice.gov/file/1035477/d… (5/11)
Russia’s digital campaign sought to depress African American turnout. The IRA leeched off the popularity of the Black Lives Matter movement, setting up dozens of fake activist pages, including the FB group “Blacktivist.” (6/11) nytimes.com/2018/12/17/us/…
Meanwhile, Russian hackers conducted extensive cyberoperations during the 2016 election cycle, including damaging leaks designed to help Donald Trump. (7/11) themoscowproject.org/explainers/a-c…
Russia also used its intelligence assets as part of its campaign, particularly to liaise with the Trump campaign. Some were clear Russian agents knowingly working on Russia’s behalf, while others with known links may have acted unwittingly. (8/11) themoscowproject.org/explainers/tru…
Examples:
-Konstantin Kilimnik receiving polling data from Paul Manafort
-Maria Butina infiltrating the NRA
-Joseph Mifsud tipping the Trump campaign off to the Russians having “thousands of emails” from Clinton
-suspected Russian agent Carter Page joining the campaign (9/11)
-Konstantin Kilimnik receiving polling data from Paul Manafort
-Maria Butina infiltrating the NRA
-Joseph Mifsud tipping the Trump campaign off to the Russians having “thousands of emails” from Clinton
-suspected Russian agent Carter Page joining the campaign (9/11)
And of course, the biggest intelligence operation of all, the June 9th meeting at Trump Tower. (10/11) themoscowproject.org/collusion/dona…
Three lines of effort created a powerful Russian campaign to elect Donald Trump. And in the 3 years since the Podesta hack, the Trump administration’s inaction in response to this attack on our democracy continues to be a national security risk. (11/11) themoscowproject.org/dispatch/the-r…
