With the unconfirmed report of Russian hacking of the US presidential election to benefit Donald Trump, coupled with the ongoing crackdown against Russian propaganda “fake news”, dominating the US media today, overnight the former neocon ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, who has been floated for the possible second highest role in Donald Trump’s State Department supporting Rex Tillerson, poured fuel on the fire with questions about Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election, going so far as to suggest that the “Russian hacks” were in fact a false flag operation by the current administration.
“It is not at all clear to me, just viewing this from the outside, that this hacking into the DNC and the RNC was not a false flag operation,” he told Fox News’ Eric Shawn on Sunday. Asked about the use of the phrase “false flag” and whether he was accusing the US government of involvement, Bolton said, “We just don’t know.”
While skeptics have been quick to tear apart his allegation, where he was accurate is his assessment that “intelligence has been politicized in the Obama administration to a very significant degree.”
The topic of Russian interference surged on Friday after a Washington Post story revealed that according to a “secret” CIA assessment, Russia intervened in the election to help Trump win the presidency. Curiously, the FBI – and many others – have disagreed; so far no evidence has been presented to substantiate the story.
Various entities have been identified who helped the Russian government leak hacked documents from Democratic sources, including the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, to WikiLeaks, according to the report. On Sunday morning, Trump assailed Democrats over the issue, saying it was “ridiculous” to think Russia interfered in the election to help him get elected, even as a bipartisan group of senators called for an investigation.
But, “if you think the Russians did this, then why did they leave fingerprints?” that led the CIA to its conclusion, Bolton questioned.
“We would want to know who else might want to influence the election and why they would leave fingerprints that point to the Russians. That’s why I say until we know more about how the intelligence community came to this conclusion we don’t know whether it is Russian inspired or a false flag.”
Meanwhile, moments ago Trump also added to the fray, tweeting “Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory!” and then adding “Unless you catch “hackers” in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn’t this brought up before election?”
Well Fancis, here is your proof that trump is just another neocon. Just like bush, just like obummer, same as it always was. Bolton is the worst of the worst neocons. The man probably has a room in his mansion where he smashes the heads of puppies for entertainment.
You are correct that Bolton is a Neocon. But, Bolton has the experience moving within the corrupt confines of politics, especially with the super-duper corrupt UN. Thus, he would supply the SoS newbie with the actual intelligence of the inner workings in order for the SoS to be effective in carrying out Trump’s objectives.
Rob….you are jumping the shark. Actions speak louder than words, so WAIT and SEE.
50 thumbs up.
Russian spies Boris and Natasha still after Moose and squirrel for fearless leader Soros……….Obama thinks America will swallow anything
America will swallow anything, and they want to.
Quick swallow and get back to the smart phone.
Yes, but the puppies…think of the puppies.
FBI Disputes CIA’s “Fuzzy And Ambiguous” Claims That Russia Sought To Influence Presidential Election
by Tyler Durden
Dec 12, 2016 9:34 AM
Since election day, Democrats have engaged in a panicked attempt to leverage their last couple of weeks in control of the executive branch to delegitimize the Trump presidency. Obama has even gone so far as to order a “full report” on Russian tampering in the 2016 election cycle to be completed before he leaves office (see “A “Soft Coup” Attempt: Furious Trump Slams “Secret” CIA Report Russia Helped Him Win”). Of course, we should simply ignore the fact that a true investigation of such allegations would take much longer than the one month that Obama has left in office because any delay could run the risk of a bipartisan/independent review and that’s just not how the Obama administration plays the game.
But at least one investigative agency, the FBI, isn’t buying the “fuzzy and ambiguous” assertions from the CIA that Russia “quite” clearly meddled in the U.S. elections on behalf of the Trump campaign. Meanwhile, the FBI’s unwillingness to play along is infuriating Democrats. Per the BizPac Review:
The FBI did not corroborate the CIA’s claim that Russia had a hand in the election of President-elect Donald Trump in a meeting with lawmakers last week.
A senior FBI counterintelligence official met with Republican and Democrat members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in order to give the bureau’s view of a recent CIA report. The official did not concur with the CIA, frustrating Democrats.
The CIA believes Russia “quite” clearly intended to send Trump to the White House. The claim is a bold one and concerned Democrats and some Republicans who are worried about Trump’s desire to mend relations with an increasingly aggressive Russia. The CIA report was “direct, bold and unqualified,” one of the officials at the meeting told The Washington Post Saturday.
The FBI official was much less convinced of the claims, providing “fuzzy” and “ambiguous” remarks.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post also points out that the whole disagreement likely comes down to “cultural” differences between the FBI and CIA. Apparently the FBI “wants facts and tangible evidence to prove something” while the CIA is “more comfortable drawing inferences.”
The competing messages, according to officials in attendance, also reflect cultural differences between the FBI and the CIA. The bureau, true to its law enforcement roots, wants facts and tangible evidence to prove something beyond all reasonable doubt. The CIA is more comfortable drawing inferences from behavior.
“The FBI briefers think in terms of criminal standards — can we prove this in court,” one of the officials said. “The CIA briefers weigh the preponderance of intelligence and then make judgment calls to help policymakers make informed decisions. High confidence for them means ‘we’re pretty damn sure.’ It doesn’t mean they can prove it in court.”
The FBI is not sold on the idea that Russia had a particular aim in its meddling. “There’s no question that [the Russians’] efforts went one way, but it’s not clear that they have a specific goal or mix of related goals,” said one U.S. official.
Well, that certainly seems reasonable…who needs “facts and tangible evidence” when the CIA can just “draw inferences”…they’re supposedly really smart so we should probably just believe them.
CIA and FBI in a standoff. Duel at daybreak…let the better
agency win.
This is all horse-manure. Face saving or obfuscation or both.
Dear O, please go away forever and ever.
What bullshit. The US has been screwing around with foreign governments for decades. Look at the mess they recently started in the Ukraine. So now, perhaps, they’re on the receiving end and I’m suppose to give a shit? Besides Israel has owned Congress for years so whats new about the purity of the system? Personally I have voted only twice in 30 years (Ron Paul) and couldn’t care less.
Bolton is not to be trusted…he is a “dual national Israeli American” jew.
He reminds me of a younger Henry Kissinger…