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Russian Troll Farm Goes After Mueller’s Files

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  sixpick  •  6 years ago  •  16 comments

Russian Troll Farm Goes After Mueller’s Files

Lawyers for Concord Management and Consulting are demanding a wealth of information, including the identities of informants and details of any electronic surveillance.



Lawyers for the company accused of funding Russia’s election interference trolls are demanding that special counsel Robert Mueller turn over reams of information, including the identities of informants, details of any electronic surveillance, and a list of “each and every instance” since 1945 in which the U.S. “engaged in operations to interfere with elections and political processes in any foreign country.”

The ambitious demand for legal discovery surfaced Friday in Mueller’s criminal case against 13 individuals and three Russian companies linked to the Internet Research Agency, the St. Petersburg troll farm that used fake accounts to organize demonstrations on U.S. soil and flood American social media with alt-right memes during the 2016 election. One of those defendants is Concord Management and Consulting, a Russian firm run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close Kremlin ally known as “Putin’s Chef,” who is also named individually as a defendant in the case.

Attorneys at the law firm Reed Smith are representing Concord. Though the Washington, D.C.-based lawyers have formally filed an appearance in the case, the government says they’ve refused to accept service of the court summons, and attempts to serve the Russian defendants through other means—like dropping off the summons with Russia’s prosecutor general in Moscow—have failed. Mueller’s team is seeking a postponement of a May 9th arraignment date until the technicality can be ironed out.

Concord’s attorneys, though, are wasting no time in demanding legal “discovery” in the case. Generally, the government is required to provide defendants with any evidence it intends to use at trial, as well as any material relevant to preparing a defense. To that end, the defense team is seeking a wealth of information on what the U.S. knows about the trolling operation, including a full list of fake social media accounts, the names of suspected co-conspirators, details of electronic surveillance by U.S. intelligence agencies, and identities of Americans who were tricked into aiding the Russian campaign.

The lawyers also want Mueller to define a number of terms used in the indictment, including “improper foreign influence,” “significant funds,” and “disparaging Hillary Clinton.” In addition, the defense is demanding information on every U.S.-run election-interference operation since World War II, perhaps telegraphing a pot-kettle defense to the eight-count indictment.

“This disclosure should include any and all information regarding the use of computer infrastructure inside and outside of the United States, false foreign identities, goals to sow discord in a foreign political system, assistance to a foreign elected official or candidate, attacks on a foreign elected official or candidate, assassination or conspiracy to assassinate a foreign elected official or candidate, buying political advertisements, posing as foreign persons and/or failure to honestly identify to foreign voters the involvement of any officer, employee or agent of the United States Government,” reads a letter sent to Mueller’s office last month by Reed Smith partner Eric Dubelier.




Sensitive discovery usually comes with a court order forbidding the defendants and their lawyers from using the material for anything except trial preparation. It’s unclear how that might apply in a case where the defendant is viewed as an unofficial arm of the Kremlin.

~Link~



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sixpick
Professor Quiet
1  seeder  sixpick    6 years ago

Now isn't that something?  Looks like Mueller is praying.  He's probably praying they'll forget about the whole thing if he will.  When you have nothing, you have nothing to lose, but maybe not in this case.

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
2  JBB    6 years ago

Can you explain why rightwingers are taking the side of Putin's troll army against the US Justice Department?

 
 
 
Ronin2
Professor Quiet
2.1  Ronin2  replied to  JBB @2    6 years ago

Can you explain why left wingers are taking the side of a corrupt US government agency that won't adhere to even the most basic US laws?

Plain and simple Mueller fucked up royally. He went to trial totally unprepared- expecting no shows on an open and shut in absentia case.  Seems that those accused knew enough to hire a US legal firm to represent them; and find out when the court date was. Now Mueller is trying to avoid presenting real evidence (if he has any), that will be cross examined in a court of law.

This whole farce has always been about show over substance.  This trial will waste even more tax payer money.  That is if Mueller can scrape together enough evidence fast enough to get it started.    

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
2.1.1  JBB  replied to  Ronin2 @2.1    6 years ago

That is what we would expect for Putin to say but it is not congruent coming from any supposed American patriots. How can you not see that this case is the US Justice Department versus Putin's Russian troll army which hacked and otherwise plainly illegally interfered in our American electoral system? The Russian hacked several state's election boards. Just one example of what Putin's trolls were up to. This case is about Russian state intelligence hacking the DNC and multiple state election systems. Not Cool!

 
 
 
Sean Treacy
Professor Principal
2.1.2  Sean Treacy  replied to  JBB @2.1.1    6 years ago
one not understand that this case is the US Justice Department versus Putin's Russian trolls

This case is about Mueller wanting to win a press conference and generating good p.r. He thought he'd announce the indictments, receive plaudits for his good work and then the case would go away because the Russians would never appear in Court. He never, ever expected to take this to trial because he didn't think the Russians  would defend themselves. Actually trying this case and punishing  Russians was never contemplated. 

It's not about punishing Russia or Russian trolls at all and never was.  If it was, Mueller would be ready for trial and not stumbling around like he got caught with his pants down. 

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
2.1.3  JBB  replied to  Sean Treacy @2.1.2    6 years ago
This case is about Mueller wanting to win a press conference and generating good

WRONG! This case is about ILLEGAL RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN OUR US ELECTION SYSTEM!

/news/2016/10/07/joint-statement-department-homeland-security-and-office-director-national


Release Date: 

October 7, 2016


DHS and ODNI Seals

For Immediate Release
DHS Press Office
Contact: 202-282-8010

The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations. The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts. These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process. Such activity is not new to Moscow—the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there. We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.

Some states have also recently seen scanning and probing of their election-related systems, which in most cases originated from servers operated by a Russian company. However, we are not now in a position to attribute this activity to the Russian Government. The USIC and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assess that it would be extremely difficult for someone, including a nation-state actor, to alter actual ballot counts or election results by cyber attack or intrusion. This assessment is based on the decentralized nature of our election system in this country and the number of protections state and local election officials have in place. States ensure that voting machines are not connected to the Internet, and there are numerous checks and balances as well as extensive oversight at multiple levels built into our election process.

Nevertheless, DHS continues to urge state and local election officials to be vigilant and seek cybersecurity assistance from DHS. A number of states have already done so. DHS is providing several services to state and local election officials to assist in their cybersecurity. These services include cyber “hygiene” scans of Internet-facing systems, risk and vulnerability assessments, information sharing about cyber incidents, and best practices for securing voter registration databases and addressing potential cyber threats. DHS has convened an Election Infrastructure Cybersecurity Working Group with experts across all levels of government to raise awareness of cybersecurity risks potentially affecting election infrastructure and the elections process. Secretary Johnson and DHS officials are working directly with the National Association of Secretaries of State to offer assistance, share information, and provide additional resources to state and local officials.

Hard to complain about the source when it is the US Department of Homeland Security

There has been plenty more online but you'd have to get outside the RW bubble to know it...

  
 
 
 
 
Sean Treacy
Professor Principal
2.1.4  Sean Treacy  replied to  JBB @2.1.3    6 years ago

You don't seem to understand what's happening. The whole point of the exercise was to release press releases like the one you so helpfully provided. It's called public relations and indicting some Russians is always good public relations.  As I said, Mueller wanted the p.r. without the prospect of ever having to prosecute the Russians, who he never thought would appear in Court. That the Russians would never actually be prosecuted was all over the press when the indictments were issued, I'm surprised you somehow missed it. 

If you actually expect Mueller to go to trial and "punish" the Russians you should be livid at his incompetence. 

 
 
 
Explorerdog
Freshman Silent
2.1.5  Explorerdog  replied to  Sean Treacy @2.1.2    6 years ago

What other high profile investigators do you have mind reading ability for? Try trump and see if there is anything other than a swarm of black bees.

 
 
 
Sean Treacy
Professor Principal
2.1.6  Sean Treacy  replied to  Explorerdog @2.1.5    6 years ago
What other high profile investigators do you have mind reading ability fo

It's either that or Mueller's team is just incredibly incompetent  Take your pick. 

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
2.1.7  JBB  replied to  Sean Treacy @2.1.4    6 years ago
If you actually expect Mueller to go to trial and "punish" the Russians you should be livid at his incompetence.

I you think Russian entities should be allowed to illegally interfere in our election system with impunity the, sorry, but I must question if you are an American because we have laws in this country which make that plainly illegal and foreign enemies of the US who break our election laws will be and thus are being brought to justice in US courts. Mueller and the US Justice Department are prosecuting Colcord, a Russian entity, for hacking our US system. Whose side are you on in this matter of national security? Russia, Putin and his troll army or the US Justice Department?

 
 
 
Sean Treacy
Professor Principal
2.1.8  Sean Treacy  replied to  JBB @2.1.7    6 years ago
I you think Russian entities should be allowed to illegally interfere in our election system with impunity the, sorry, but I must question if you are an American because we have laws in this country which make that plainly illegal and foreign enemies of the US who break our election laws will be and thus are be

Why did you post this to me? What the hell are you even talking about? No sane person can connect that rant to what I wrote.  I

It's obvious you don't understand what's happening with this case or what I wrote. Your lack of basic comprehension of what's happening in this case makes it impossible to discuss this with you. 

 
 
 
Mark in Wyoming
Professor Silent
3  Mark in Wyoming     6 years ago

This is getting to be hilarious, per the article , it says social media was flooded with memes and alt right articles , ok show me a statute that says that is illegal.  whats the answer? censor any and all content from outside the country?

 now if those flooded pieces were picked up by news entities then it falls under protection of the first, freedom of the press.

 I don't think anyone can say the DNC wasn't hacked ,but multiple states elections systems? I would need to see some proof of that, and since every state has verified that their actual voting tabulations were NOT hacked, the vote count stands . and even DHS stated that because of the decentralization of the system and individual states safe guards , no voted once made were tampered with or changed, the only person who could do that was the individual in the booth while they were voting . so a list of states whose voting systems were compromised would be helpful.

hate to say it but it does look to me like the special councils investigation ran a bluff , and got called on it by being answered and a demand for proof of illegality be made. in other words , put up actual proof , not circumstancial , of a statute that was violated , and proof that the indicted were the ones that actually did the illegal deed.

 
 
 
JBB
Professor Principal
3.1  JBB  replied to  Mark in Wyoming @3    6 years ago
,but multiple states elections systems? I would need to see some proof of that

It must be painful to be so misinformed...

FEBRUARY 27, 2018 / 7:14 PM / 2 MONTHS AGO

Russians compromised election systems in seven states: NBC News

Reuters Staff

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence had evidence that voter registration systems or websites in seven states - Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Texas and Wisconsin - were compromised by Russian-backed operatives before the 2016 election but never told the states, NBC News reported on Tuesday.

The Department of Homeland Security denied the report, a spokesman calling it “factually inaccurate and misleading” in a statement.

NBC, citing unnamed U.S. officials, said that top-secret intelligence requested by President Barack Obama in his last weeks in office synthesized months of work and made the conclusions.

Only Arizona and Illinois had previously been identified as states that experienced some level of intrusion into their election systems.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in 2016 that Russia ran a program of hacking and disinformation to interfere in the elections and it later developed into an attempt to help Republican candidate Donald Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton. On Feb. 16, a U.S. special counsel indicted 13 Russians and three companies, including St.-Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency known for its trolling on social media, with charges of tampering in the campaign.

While officials in Washington told several of the states ahead of the elections that foreign entities were probing their systems, none were told the Russian government was behind it, NBC News reported, citing unnamed state officials.

The Trump administration contacted election officials in all 50 states in September 2017 to advise them whether or not their systems had been targeted. It told them 21 states had been targeted and some had been breached, NBC News reported.

Six of the seven states that were breached continued to deny it, citing their own cyber investigations, NBC News reported. It said the systems in the seven states were compromised in a variety of ways, including entry into state websites and penetration of voter registration databases.

 
 
 
Mark in Wyoming
Professor Silent
3.1.1  Mark in Wyoming   replied to  JBB @3.1    6 years ago

and that affected the actual votes  cast and counted how? and as the article states the states deny it citing their own investigations , so who to believe?

sure glad I checked before I voted on whether or not the voting machines in my state were connected to the interwebs or not....... 

 
 
 
sixpick
Professor Quiet
3.1.2  seeder  sixpick  replied to  Mark in Wyoming @3.1.1    6 years ago

That's just some more of the crap we can expect from the MSM.  

First of all 'they have reason to believe they were compromised.'  And they say no votes were affected or changed and no one was taken off the voter registration.

To top it off, this was before the election.  What did they do about it?  Nothing!  And they didn't even tell the states who they had reason to believe had been compromised.  

This is old news and is being brought back up because they understand the average American Citizen is gullible and will think this unproven accusation will prove the Russians were hacking our voting machines, but that is not the case.

 
 
 
Colour Me Free
Senior Quiet
3.1.3  Colour Me Free  replied to  JBB @3.1    6 years ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence had evidence that voter registration systems or websites in seven states - Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Texas and Wisconsin - were compromised by Russian-backed operatives before the 2016 election but never told the states, NBC News reported on Tuesday.

Define compromised .. why were the states never told if indeed there was evidence ..? 

While officials in Washington told several of the states ahead of the elections that foreign entities were probing their systems, none were told the Russian government was behind it, NBC News reported, citing unnamed state officials.

Why the cloak and dagger drama ... is there / was there evidence / proof that the Russians had definitely hacked the states or not.  Is this where the former administration placed the blame on McConnell as to why the states were never told?

I am NO cheerleader for Russian troll farms, and I find all the finger pointing ridiculous regarding the right supporting Russia ... Do you not see where the skepticism lies?  The vote of the United States was supposedly under siege - yet it was a secret until after Trump won the election?  After which there is this major crisis, that included collusion with the Russians by the Trump campaign? - by putting most anything under a microscope flaws can be found.  Is this Benghazi 8.0?

I do not know if the Trump Campaign colluded with Russia ... yet I think that the quest for the answer has been hijacked by a deep sea fishing expedition.

Time to go back to the good ole paper ballot!  it is the only way to insure that cast votes cannot be compromised by a foreign entity due to hacking.  Montana still has the paper ballot, I admit there is a certain satisfaction of manually filling in the oval and casting my vote! 

 
 

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