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Russia wanted to influence Trump through Flynn and Manafort

WASHINGTON- American spies collected information last summer revealing that senior Russian intelligence and political officials were discussing how to exert influence over Donald J. Trump through his advisers, according to three current and former American officials familiar with the intelligence. The conversations focused on Paul Manafort, the Trump campaign chairman at the time, and Michael T. Flynn, a retired general who was advising Mr. Trump, the officials said. Both men had indirect ties to Russian officials, who appeared confident that each could be used to help shape Mr. Trump's opinions on Russia.

WASHINGTON- American spies collected information last summer revealing that senior Russian intelligence and political officials were discussing how to exert influence over Donald J. Trump through his advisers, according to three current and former American officials familiar with the intelligence. The conversations focused on Paul Manafort, the Trump campaign chairman at the time, and Michael T. Flynn, a retired general who was advising Mr. Trump, the officials said. Both men had indirect ties to Russian officials, who appeared confident that each could be used to help shape Mr. Trump's opinions on Russia.

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Russia's information warfare against the West

Modern Russian information warfare can be directly traced to Soviet "special propaganda", first taught on its own in 1942.[viij Along the way, the Soviets perfected the concept of reflexive control, essentially making opponents act as desired without them ever being aware of Moscow's hidden hand.[viij Eventually, Soviet military doctrine regarded victory as social revolution in enemy territories.[ix] Current events in Ukraine show this continuity from Bolshevik days, with adaptation along the way, of course, to benefit from technological and other developments over the past century. This is set to continue. Russia's military doctrine to 2020 favours a shift from destruction to influence; from eradication of opponents to their inner decay; from conventional battlegrounds to information, psychological and perception war; and from physical conflict to conflict in the human consciousness.[x])

Modern Russian information warfare can be directly traced to Soviet "special propaganda", first taught on its own in 1942.[viij Along the way, the Soviets perfected the concept of reflexive control, essentially making opponents act as desired without them ever being aware of Moscow's hidden hand.[viij Eventually, Soviet military doctrine regarded victory as social revolution in enemy territories.[ix] Current events in Ukraine show this continuity from Bolshevik days, with adaptation along the way, of course, to benefit from technological and other developments over the past century. This is set to continue. Russia's military doctrine to 2020 favours a shift from destruction to influence; from eradication of opponents to their inner decay; from conventional battlegrounds to information, psychological and perception war; and from physical conflict to conflict in the human consciousness.[x])

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Flynn wants to plead the 5th

The committee has two leading options at its disposal (other than doing nothing) to try to force Flynn to cough up the documents it has subpoenaed. As a useful Lawfare explainer notes, the dommittee can either try to refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney for criminal action, or it can try to get the Senate, under a provision in a 1978 ethics reform law, to enlist its counsel to bring a civil action to compel release of the documents. The basic principle here is that in order for congressional oversight to be effective, its subpoena power must have real teeth. The success of the first option relies on the willingness of the Justice Department to prosecute, and the latter option (a civil action brought by Senate counsel) is the more likely one. That would probably require votes first by the committee, and then by the full Senate, according to Sarah Binder, a congressional expert at George Washington University The important procedural step here has typically been that the Senate by statute is authorized to direct its chamber legal counsel to seek civil enforcement of its committee subpoenas," Binder told me this morning. "The full Senate would vote on a resolution directing its legal counsel to file suit in federal court to enforce a committee issued subpoena." This would raise some political complications and would pose a challenge to Republicans. As one legal expert explained to USA Today, the question then would be how hard the GOP-controlled Senate's counsel will fight in civil court which would have to decide whether the Flynn documents are protected under the Fifth Amendment -to try to get Flynn to release them. That would also raise questions about how seriously the GOP Senate caucus is taking its oversight role.

The committee has two leading options at its disposal (other than doing nothing) to try to force Flynn to cough up the documents it has subpoenaed. As a useful Lawfare explainer notes, the dommittee can either try to refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney for criminal action, or it can try to get the Senate, under a provision in a 1978 ethics reform law, to enlist its counsel to bring a civil action to compel release of the documents. The basic principle here is that in order for congressional oversight to be effective, its subpoena power must have real teeth. The success of the first option relies on the willingness of the Justice Department to prosecute, and the latter option (a civil action brought by Senate counsel) is the more likely one. That would probably require votes first by the committee, and then by the full Senate, according to Sarah Binder, a congressional expert at George Washington University The important procedural step here has typically been that the Senate by statute is authorized to direct its chamber legal counsel to seek civil enforcement of its committee subpoenas," Binder told me this morning. "The full Senate would vote on a resolution directing its legal counsel to file suit in federal court to enforce a committee issued subpoena." This would raise some political complications and would pose a challenge to Republicans. As one legal expert explained to USA Today, the question then would be how hard the GOP-controlled Senate's counsel will fight in civil court which would have to decide whether the Flynn documents are protected under the Fifth Amendment -to try to get Flynn to release them. That would also raise questions about how seriously the GOP Senate caucus is taking its oversight role.

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Mike Flynn wants to plead the FIF!

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Chart of Trump's interference

Trump's interference with the Justice Department's Russia investigation There are also investigations in the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, and the Senate Judiciary Committee and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee FBI DIRECTOR James Comey Asked Comey to drop investigation, according to reports Reports to.. Attorney General's Office Said Sessions shouldn't recuse himself ll▶ ATTORNEY GENERAL Jeff Sessions Fired ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL Sally Yates DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL Rod Rosenstein Appointed to investigate Reportedly tried to bar from investigating Kushner or Manafort using obscure rule SPECIAL COUNSEL Robert Mueller Asked them to publicly say there was no collusion, according to reports DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE Dan Coats NSA DIRECTOR Michael S. Rogers

Trump's interference with the Justice Department's Russia investigation There are also investigations in the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, and the Senate Judiciary Committee and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee FBI DIRECTOR James Comey Asked Comey to drop investigation, according to reports Reports to.. Attorney General's Office Said Sessions shouldn't recuse himself ll▶ ATTORNEY GENERAL Jeff Sessions Fired ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL Sally Yates DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL Rod Rosenstein Appointed to investigate Reportedly tried to bar from investigating Kushner or Manafort using obscure rule SPECIAL COUNSEL Robert Mueller Asked them to publicly say there was no collusion, according to reports DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE Dan Coats NSA DIRECTOR Michael S. Rogers

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Timeline of Trump interfering with investigations

* Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, whose agency is investigating whether the president's 2016 campaign might have had contacts with Russian entities. After the White House initially said Comey's ouster was due to his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, Trump told NBC's Lester Holt: "When I decided to [fire Comey], I said to myself, I said you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story." * * The New York Times reported that, on Feb. 14, Comey had dinner with Trump, where the president told the FBI director: "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting [Michael] Flynn go," Trump said, per a memo Comey wrote about the meeting. "He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go. *The New York Times also reported that Trump, meeting on May 10 with Russian officials in the Oval Office, gave this account for his firing of Comey, according to a document summarizing the meeting. "Ijust fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job," Trump said. "I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken And then this week, the Washington Post reported - later confirmed by NBC News - that Trump asked two top intelligence officials in March to say publicly that they saw no evidence the Trump campaign had colluded with the Russian effort to interfere in the 2016 election

* Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, whose agency is investigating whether the president's 2016 campaign might have had contacts with Russian entities. After the White House initially said Comey's ouster was due to his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, Trump told NBC's Lester Holt: "When I decided to [fire Comey], I said to myself, I said you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story." * * The New York Times reported that, on Feb. 14, Comey had dinner with Trump, where the president told the FBI director: "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting [Michael] Flynn go," Trump said, per a memo Comey wrote about the meeting. "He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go. *The New York Times also reported that Trump, meeting on May 10 with Russian officials in the Oval Office, gave this account for his firing of Comey, according to a document summarizing the meeting. "Ijust fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job," Trump said. "I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken And then this week, the Washington Post reported - later confirmed by NBC News - that Trump asked two top intelligence officials in March to say publicly that they saw no evidence the Trump campaign had colluded with the Russian effort to interfere in the 2016 election

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Russia bought ads on Facebook

Russia plays in every social media space. The intelligence officials have found that Moscow's agents bought ads on Facebook to target specific populations with propaganda. "They buy the ads, where it says sponsored by-they do that just as much as anybody else does," says the senior intelligence official. (A Facebook official says the company has no evidence of that occurring.) The ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner of Virginia, has said he is looking into why, for example, four of the top five Google search results the day the U.S. released a report on the 2016 operation were links to Russia's TV propaganda arm, RT. (Google says it saw no meddling in this case.) Researchers at the University of Southern California, meanwhile, found that nearly 20% of political tweets in 2016 between Sept. 16 and Oct. 21 were generated by bots of unknown origin; investigators are trying to figure out how many were Russian.

Russia plays in every social media space. The intelligence officials have found that Moscow's agents bought ads on Facebook to target specific populations with propaganda. "They buy the ads, where it says sponsored by-they do that just as much as anybody else does," says the senior intelligence official. (A Facebook official says the company has no evidence of that occurring.) The ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner of Virginia, has said he is looking into why, for example, four of the top five Google search results the day the U.S. released a report on the 2016 operation were links to Russia's TV propaganda arm, RT. (Google says it saw no meddling in this case.) Researchers at the University of Southern California, meanwhile, found that nearly 20% of political tweets in 2016 between Sept. 16 and Oct. 21 were generated by bots of unknown origin; investigators are trying to figure out how many were Russian.

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Russia hit a milestone in their intelligence

For many Americans, Russian hacking remains a story about the 2016 election. But there is another story taking shape. Marrying a hundred years of expertise in influence operations to the new world of social media, Russia may finally have gained the ability it long sought but never fully achieved in the Cold War: to alter the course of events in the U.S. by manipulating public opinion. The vast openness and anonymity of social media has cleared a dangerous new route for antidemocratic forces. “Using these technologies, it is possible to undermine democratic government, and it's becoming easier every day," says Rand Waltzman of the Rand Corp., who ran a major Pentagon research program to understand the propaganda threats posed by social media technology Current and former officials at the FBI, at the CIA and in Congress now believe the 2016 Russian operation was just the most visible battle in an ongoing information war against global democracy. And they've become more vocal about their concern. "If there has ever been a clarion call for vigilance and action against a threat to the very foundation of our democratic political system, this episode is it," former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified before Congress on May 8

For many Americans, Russian hacking remains a story about the 2016 election. But there is another story taking shape. Marrying a hundred years of expertise in influence operations to the new world of social media, Russia may finally have gained the ability it long sought but never fully achieved in the Cold War: to alter the course of events in the U.S. by manipulating public opinion. The vast openness and anonymity of social media has cleared a dangerous new route for antidemocratic forces. “Using these technologies, it is possible to undermine democratic government, and it's becoming easier every day," says Rand Waltzman of the Rand Corp., who ran a major Pentagon research program to understand the propaganda threats posed by social media technology Current and former officials at the FBI, at the CIA and in Congress now believe the 2016 Russian operation was just the most visible battle in an ongoing information war against global democracy. And they've become more vocal about their concern. "If there has ever been a clarion call for vigilance and action against a threat to the very foundation of our democratic political system, this episode is it," former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified before Congress on May 8

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Brennan encountered contacts between Russia and Trump campaign

"I encountered and am aware of information and intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and U.S. persons involved in the Trump campaign that I was concerned about because of known Russian efforts to suborn such individuals." John Brennan Former CIA Director 따

"I encountered and am aware of information and intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and U.S. persons involved in the Trump campaign that I was concerned about because of known Russian efforts to suborn such individuals." John Brennan Former CIA Director 따

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Brennan briefed Congress last year

At the witness table, Brennan told a harrowing tale. As ClA director last summer, he saw what was happening with the hack-and-leak attack on the Democratic National Committee, and he reviewed top-secret intelligence and concluded that Russia was mounting this assault to disrupt the election, hurt Hillary Clinton, and help Donald Trump. He also at the time was aware of intelligence that showed contacts between Trump associates and Russia, and that caused him to conclude a thorough FBI investigation was warranted. He testified, "I saw interaction" that warranted concern This was a big deal. In March, then-FBl chief James Comey revealed during testimony to this committee that in July 2016 the bureau launched an investigation of contacts between Trump associates and Russia. Now the CIA head from then was stating that there was clear intelligence that justified that probe. He also revealed that in early August he was so concerned about the Russian operation he spoke to the head of Russia's FSB, the country's intelligence service, and warned him to knock it off. Brennan also revealed that in August and September he briefed a small number of congressional leaders and shared with them top-secret intelligence about Moscow's effort to subvert the election in part to benefit Donald Trump. (This means that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan knew many details about the Russian operation but didn't challenge or correct Trump's continued public assertions that Russia was not necessarily the culprit in the DNC hack.)

At the witness table, Brennan told a harrowing tale. As ClA director last summer, he saw what was happening with the hack-and-leak attack on the Democratic National Committee, and he reviewed top-secret intelligence and concluded that Russia was mounting this assault to disrupt the election, hurt Hillary Clinton, and help Donald Trump. He also at the time was aware of intelligence that showed contacts between Trump associates and Russia, and that caused him to conclude a thorough FBI investigation was warranted. He testified, "I saw interaction" that warranted concern This was a big deal. In March, then-FBl chief James Comey revealed during testimony to this committee that in July 2016 the bureau launched an investigation of contacts between Trump associates and Russia. Now the CIA head from then was stating that there was clear intelligence that justified that probe. He also revealed that in early August he was so concerned about the Russian operation he spoke to the head of Russia's FSB, the country's intelligence service, and warned him to knock it off. Brennan also revealed that in August and September he briefed a small number of congressional leaders and shared with them top-secret intelligence about Moscow's effort to subvert the election in part to benefit Donald Trump. (This means that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan knew many details about the Russian operation but didn't challenge or correct Trump's continued public assertions that Russia was not necessarily the culprit in the DNC hack.)

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Trump violated protocols regarding information

Brennan was asked to comment on reports that Trump shared sensitive intelligence with the Russian officials during the Oval Office meeting that might have jeopardized a sensitive intelligence-sharing relationship with a foreign partner. The former CIA chief noted that classified intelligence is routinelv shared with foreign countries, but that if Trump made a spontaneous decision to do so, he would have violated "two protocols." foreign ministers or local ambassadors. It's shared through intelligence channels because it needs to be handled the right way," Brennan said. "Secondly before sharing any classified intelligence with foreign partners, it needs go back to the originating agency to make sure that the language in it is not even just providing the substance -going to reveal sources and methods and compromise the future collection

Brennan was asked to comment on reports that Trump shared sensitive intelligence with the Russian officials during the Oval Office meeting that might have jeopardized a sensitive intelligence-sharing relationship with a foreign partner. The former CIA chief noted that classified intelligence is routinelv shared with foreign countries, but that if Trump made a spontaneous decision to do so, he would have violated "two protocols." foreign ministers or local ambassadors. It's shared through intelligence channels because it needs to be handled the right way," Brennan said. "Secondly before sharing any classified intelligence with foreign partners, it needs go back to the originating agency to make sure that the language in it is not even just providing the substance -going to reveal sources and methods and compromise the future collection

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Adam Schiff's statement on Brennan hearing

Intel Ranking Member Schiff Statement on Testimony of Former CIA Director Brennan Washington, DC - Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following statement Today's testimony by former CIA Director Brennan that the Russians brazenly interfered in our election, and that he became aware of interactions between Trump campaign officials and the Russians that warranted referral to the FBI further underscores the importance of our investigation "Moreover, the Director's admonition that the sharing of any classified information with the Russians should only proceed through intelligence channels, and with significant thought given to ensuring that whatever information is provided would not reveal sources and methods, should serve as a reminder to the White House of the dangers of the any impromptu disclosures by the President in his Oval Office meeting with Foreign Minister Lavrov and Ambassador Kislyak.

Intel Ranking Member Schiff Statement on Testimony of Former CIA Director Brennan Washington, DC - Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following statement Today's testimony by former CIA Director Brennan that the Russians brazenly interfered in our election, and that he became aware of interactions between Trump campaign officials and the Russians that warranted referral to the FBI further underscores the importance of our investigation "Moreover, the Director's admonition that the sharing of any classified information with the Russians should only proceed through intelligence channels, and with significant thought given to ensuring that whatever information is provided would not reveal sources and methods, should serve as a reminder to the White House of the dangers of the any impromptu disclosures by the President in his Oval Office meeting with Foreign Minister Lavrov and Ambassador Kislyak.

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Republicans are the Trump Defense Force

Yet once again Republicans did not focus on the main elements of the story. When the Republicans on the committee had the chance to question Brennan, they did not press him for more details on Russia's information warfare against the United States. Instead, they fixated on protecting Trump.

Yet once again Republicans did not focus on the main elements of the story. When the Republicans on the committee had the chance to question Brennan, they did not press him for more details on Russia's information warfare against the United States. Instead, they fixated on protecting Trump.

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John Brennan saw the contacts

"l encountered and am aware of information and intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and US persons involved in the Trump campaign that I was concerned about because of known Russian efforts to suborn such individuals. It raised questions in my mind about whether Russia was able to gain thee cooperation of those individuals."

"l encountered and am aware of information and intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and US persons involved in the Trump campaign that I was concerned about because of known Russian efforts to suborn such individuals. It raised questions in my mind about whether Russia was able to gain thee cooperation of those individuals."

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"Can we...?"

In addition to the requests to Coats and Rogers, senior White House officials sounded out top intelligence officials about the possibility of intervening directly with Comey to encourage the FBI to drop its probe of Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, according to people familiar with the matter. The officials said the White House appeared uncertain about its power to influence the FBI. "Can we ask him to shut down the investigation? Are you able to assist in this matter?" one official said of the line of questioning from the White House.

In addition to the requests to Coats and Rogers, senior White House officials sounded out top intelligence officials about the possibility of intervening directly with Comey to encourage the FBI to drop its probe of Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, according to people familiar with the matter. The officials said the White House appeared uncertain about its power to influence the FBI. "Can we ask him to shut down the investigation? Are you able to assist in this matter?" one official said of the line of questioning from the White House.

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Trump wanted to push back on the Russia scandal

President Trump asked two of the nation's top intelligence officials in arch to help him push back against an FBI investigation into possible coordination between his campaign and the Russian government according to current and former officials. Trump made separate appeals to the director of national intelligence, Daniel Coats, and to Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, urging them to publicly deny the existence of any evidence of collusion during the 2016 election.

President Trump asked two of the nation's top intelligence officials in arch to help him push back against an FBI investigation into possible coordination between his campaign and the Russian government according to current and former officials. Trump made separate appeals to the director of national intelligence, Daniel Coats, and to Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, urging them to publicly deny the existence of any evidence of collusion during the 2016 election.

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