The Russia watchHow Russia helped swing the election for Trump; contest to troll the world; Mariia Butina in prison
· How Russia helped swing the election for Trump
· “The Apprentice” book excerpt: At CIA’s “Russia House,” growing alarm about 2016 election interference
· Rosenstein’s departure is a national emergency
· With Rod Rosenstein possibly on his way out at the Justice Department, who will protect Robert Mueller’s investigation?
· Mueller has been questioning Michael Cohen on Trump’s Russia ties
· U.S. blacklists Russian entities tied to election meddling
· Why Russians keep visiting Mariia Butina in prison
· U.K. gov plans cyber warfare unit to tackle threat posed by Russia, North Korea and Iran
· Russia is running an actual contest to troll the World
How Russia helped swing the election for Trump (Jane Mayer, New Yorker)
A meticulous analysis of online activity during the 2016 campaign makes a powerful case that targeted cyberattacks by hackers and trolls were decisive.
“The Apprentice” book excerpt: At CIA’s “Russia House,” growing alarm about 2016 election interference (Greg Miller, Washington Post)
Greg Miller, the Washington Post’s national security correspondent, has just published an important book — The Apprentice: Trump, Russia and the Subversion of American Democracy (HarperCollins) – in which he offers a disturbing portrait of a president absorbed in self-adulation and grievance, and “impaired by his own unfamiliarity with the norms of governance, his insecurity and self-regard. Other presidents had varying levels of these traits, but none had ever possessed such a concentrated combination.”
Trump’s lack of knowledge and curiosity – “Trump refused to read intelligence reports, and he grew so visibly bored during briefings that analysts took to reducing the world’s complexities to a collection of bullet points” – coupled with his obsessive need for approval, have made him an easy prey for Vladimir Putin’s expert manipulation.
Putin has proven himself especially adept at stoking Trump’s “deep state” conspiracy theories, Miller writes:
Trump’s admiration for the leader of Russia was inexplicable and never wavered after taking office. He praised the Russian leader, congratulated him, defended him, pursued meetings with him, and fought virtually any policy or punitive measure that might displease him.
A trained intelligence operative, Putin understood the power of playing to someone’s insecurities and ego. On cue, he reciprocated with frequent praise for the president he had sought to install in the White House.
In phone conversations with Trump, Putin would whisper conspiratorially, telling the U.S. president that it wasn’t their fault that they could not consummate the relationship that each had sought. Instead, Putin sought to reinforce Trump’s belief that he was being undermined by a secret government cabal, a bureaucratic “deep state.”
“It’s not us. We get it,” Putin would tell Trump, according to White House aides. “It’s the subordinates fighting against our friendship.” (Cont.)
