Trump’s National Security Chief Calls Russian Interference ‘Incontrovertible’
Trump’s National Security Chief Calls Russian Interference ‘Incontrovertible’
MUNICH — Just hours after the Justice Department indicted 13 Russians in what it charged was a broad conspiracy to alter the 2016 election, President Trump’s national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, accused Moscow of engaging in a campaign of “disinformation, subversion and espionage” that he said Washington would continue to expose.
The evidence of a Russian effort to interfere in the election “is now incontrovertible,” General McMaster said at the Munich Security Conference, an annual meeting of European and American diplomats and security experts, including several senior Russian officials. On Friday, just hours before the indictment, the top White House official for cyberissues accused Russia of “the most destructive cyberattack in human history,” against Ukraine last summer.
Taken together, the statements appeared to mark a major turn in the administration’s willingness to directly confront the government of President Vladimir V. Putin. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and C.I.A. Director Mike Pompeo also attended the Munich conference, and while they did not speak publicly, in private meetings with others here they reiterated similar statements.
The comments highlighted a sharp division inside the administration about how to talk about the Russian covert efforts, with only Mr. Trump and a few of his close advisers holding back from acknowledging the Russian role or talking about a larger strategy to deter future attacks.
The indictment characterized the cyberattacks and social media fraud as part of a larger effort by Russia to undermine the United States. A senior administration official called the effort to confront Russia “a significant point of contention” within the administration.
After the indictment on Friday Mr. Trump declared in a Twitter post that “the results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong — no collusion!” He made no mention of Russia as a “revisionist power,” the description used in his own National Security Strategy, or of the elaborate $1.2 million-a-month effort that the indictment indicated Russia’s Internet Research Agency spent in an effort to discredit the election system and ultimately to support his candidacy.
Vice President Mike Pence, speaking this past week in Washington, misstated American intelligence conclusions about the election hacking, arguing “it is the universal conclusion of our intelligence communities that none of those efforts had any effect on the outcome of the 2016 election.” The intelligence chiefs have said they have not, and cannot, reach such a conclusion.
Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, cited Mr. Pence’s comments during the session here Saturday to make the case that Russia did nothing wrong. “So until we see the facts, everything else is just blabber,” he said.
The man who served as the Russian ambassador to the United States during the period covered by the indictments, Sergey I. Kislyak, picked up on a favorite theme of Mr. Trump’s: questioning the credibility of the F.B.I. and intelligence agency assessments.
“I have seen so many indictments and accusations against Russians,” Mr. Kislyak said on Saturday afternoon. “I am not sure I can trust American law enforcement to be the most truthful source against Russians.” He added, “The allegations being mounted against us are simply fantasies.”
Mr. Kislyak, who has been caught up in the investigation because of meetings with Trump campaign officials during his time as ambassador, went on to cite a study, which he said he was keeping in his briefcase, that proved the “main source of computer attacks in the world is not Russia. It is the United States.”
The sharp exchange of accusations and counteraccusations about cyber- and social media attacks was the main point of division between the Americans and the Russians, but hardly the only one expressed at the conference.
Mr. Kislyak argued that the Trump administration’s new nuclear strategy involved the manufacture of low-yield weapons and made nuclear war more probable. The Americans argued they were just matching Russian capabilities and charged that Moscow was in continued violation of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces agreement, limiting tactical weapons.
Yet the cyberattacks on the Democratic National Committee and others, and the use of Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms to spread propaganda, dominated the discussion and reflected how quickly the use of these techniques has become the new battleground in a very different kind of post-Cold War conflict.
The White House cybercoordinator, Rob Joyce, was particularly direct in his accusations that Russia was behind the broad attack on Ukraine last June, called “NotPetya.” He described the attack as “indiscriminate” and noted that it paralyzed operations far beyond Ukraine, the intended target, and included the Maersk shipping system. He said the United States would retaliate, but did not say how, adding “we will not telegraph these punches.”
Mr. Joyce is no newcomer to offensive cyberoperations; previously he ran the Tailored Access Operations unit of the National Security Agency, overseeing American cyberaction against other counties. “We are going to conduct cyberoperations,” he said. But “we need to do it in a responsible, balanced way.”
General McMaster, in his comments, argued that Russia had bridged the partisan divides in the United States, citing a 98 to 2 vote in the Senate to impose Russian sanctions. He did not mention that the administration has yet to impose those sanctions, saying the threat of them alone has begun to change Russian behavior.
“That sanctions bill has not yet been used as a tool against the Russians,” Christopher Painter, a former coordinator for cyberissues at the State Department, who also attended the conference. “The question now is whether they will actually use it to create consequences. I don’t know.”
General McMaster was questioned by the chairman of the foreign affairs committee of Russian Federation Council, the country’s equivalent of the Senate, about whether the United States was ready to enter into some kind of negotiation with Russia about the use of cyberweapons.
It was not the time for that yet, General McMaster said, adding, “I’m surprised there are any Russian cyberexperts available based on how active they have been in undermining the democracies” of the world.
Tags
Who is online
60 visitors
For those having trouble keeping up or in deep denial Trump's own NSC chief says that proof of Russian interference in our election is, "Incontrovertible". Which means even Trump cannot deny it anymore considering the evidence we already have. We must deal with it...
Deny this...
Deny that Hillary and the DNC bought a Russian dossier that was then used by corrupt FBI officials to get an illegal warrant to spy on the Trump campaign? Why would anybody want to deny that?
So what you are saying is that you cannot deny what the article is about and the information in it, so you do what you always do, deflect.
The article is about Russian interference. I'm providing a perfect example of it.
Did you even read the article before going into denial? It was Trump's NSC who says Russia interfered for Trump in our election...
The problem is that you aren't posting anything that is true.
McMasters said Russia interfered. It wasn't for Trumps benefit as it was to sow discontent and paranoia. The left has made Putins plan a reality.
Just wait for the IG report next month. No doubt it will confirm a lot of the Nunes memo.
And now the blame game by the GOP begins to try to deflect away from the investigation;
Republicans say Obama ‘failed to act’ on Russian threat, after indictment
This should be good....but, hardly unexpected. They seem to feel this is the only way to try do damage control at this point. Blame it all on Obama and try to make Trump and the GOP look the victims.
Do they really think this will work with anyone other than their own politically biased supporters? I don't think so.
I believe they must swallow their own bullshit which is why the Grand Old Party of Lincoln is now known merely as the gop...
The interference done did not benefit any one candidate to win the election. This goes back to 2014 before Trump even announced he was running. It wouldnt matter who ran for President in 2016 Russia was already messing with the USA.
I think people need to be focusing more on keeping our elections fair, and not who is in the WH right now. Trump is here to stay, he is not going any where. He will finish this term.
At the rate the left is going Trump will be finishing his second term and they will still be whining about the Russians.
Nobody has denied that.
That's not even an issue. The problem with liberals is this is their default point. They retreat to this narrative 1% of the time. The remaining 99% of the time they are talking about "collusion" and there is no evidence of that!
That is simply not true. The Russians said to Trump, "We will help you get elected if you will not enforce US sanctions against Russia. Trump agreed and Trump is not enforcing the sanctions against Russia". Then Vlad Putin delived. The Russians did what they promised and Trump has carried through on his end of then deal plus he has obstructed justice with his cover-up and together that is what is called an illegal quid pro quo meeting the legal definition of illegal collusion. High Crimes indeed...
And you know this how exactly? Were you there? Please show us your proof and Skirting the CoC [ph]
So part of this imaginary agreement meant Putin also supporting Bernie and holding anti Trump rallies after the election? And exactly how did Putin "deliver" when even Rosenstein said the interference made no difference?
It is public knowledge available to anyone not wearing Fox New Mule Blinders - Patent Pending...
Are you drunk, or 7 years old?
Putin did not employ an army of trolls to help get Trump elected for nothing. There was a deal and then a cover-up...
This is literally made up fantasy talk. None of your links remotely support the nonsense you are wishcasting.
I suggest you take your Putin Fan fiction to madeupconspiracies.com or Doingputinsworkforhim.net. You'd fit in better there.
Well, there you have it. Of course, the righties will continue demanding proof till Trump lifts off for exile on Elba or maybe Qatar.
Exactly. They will believe anything so long as trump says it. I guarantee you that there are rightists, right now, saying that the 13 indictments are a hoax as well. For some of these people, no amount of evidence will ever be enough. But then these are the same people that actually believed the pizzagate story was 100% true....even though there was not a SHRED of truth to any of it. They will literally believe ANYTHING that fits their agenda.
So you still have nothing. Adam schiff saying it is not proof of anything. It is only his extremely biased opinion. Your third link has nothing at all but a little speculation. Do you want to try again?.
Neither are you? Just seems like every time i get ready to proof read someone is coming into my room to poke prod and stick thing in me .I have been in the hospital for the last few days.
Schiff is the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee meaning he has seen all the evidence you and I have not. So, no...
Schiff can't write his own memo without sticking in a lot of classified info deliberately so it can't be released. The people who have read it say it's just a bunch of personal attacks.
And he us a democrat .Enough said
To the non educated person that chart would look pretty convincing, but regardless of how awesome the chart looks, it still hasnt shown or proven anything. You notice how Trump is still in office? Notice how he is focusing on making America great?
We need to tell Robert Mueller