Speaking to the Senate today, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper openly disagreed with President-elect Donald Trump on the narrative of the 2016 presidential election, insisting he was “even more resolute” that the Russians had hacked the election, and promising some evidence would be made public next week.
Clapper claimed Russia had meddled in the US election not just through alleged hacking of the Clinton campaign, but by “spreading of propaganda,” saying that the existence of state-run television station RT played a role in the election by “disparaging our system.”
Clapper then went on to lash Trump for being so vocal in questioning the allegations, saying that there was a difference between “healthy skepticism” by lawmakers and open disparagement of the intelligence community by not accepting their findings.
The evidence underpinning the allegations remains almost entirely secret, with Clapper claiming Russia’s involvement in the US election was “unprecedented,” but not offering any specifics, beyond the fact that RT exists and sometimes publishes stories embarrassing to the US government.
Beyond whatever Clapper intends to reveal next week, officials familiar with the situation say one of the key pieces of “evidence” they have is secret communications among Russian leaders showing they were happy that Trump won the election, which intelligence officials are presenting as proof they made it happen.
Trump has rejected the claims, insisting his campaign never had contact with Russian officials. The Trump team has also been quoted as concerned about the increased politicization of the intelligence community in the US.
Aside from morons like MadmcCain and Lindsey boy, does anyone believe anything this serial perjurer has to say?
Nearly everybody does. He’s one of your head spooks and it would be like burning your own flag to not believe him. You can’t change that rick. And fwiw, he probably does have some evidence of Russia hacking lots of times. Why? Because they do! Just as the US does with Russia’s politics and elections if the opportunity arises.
It’s just that that isn’t the issue rick. The issue is improving relations with Russia. One isn’t dependent on the other! Get it?
I think there’s only one thing for sure here. Nobody knows one way or the other who did it. To have a strong opinion on this matter is political and not practical.
It’s all political – even not caring.
> who did it
Nobody even knows what “it” is.
Not according to Binney and McGovern. According to them, if this was a hack, the NSA knows exactly where it came from. Of course if it was a leak then presumably the NSA wouldn’t have a clue. Assange and others at Wikileaks also know how gave them the info.
Is this lying ass kidding ?? RT’s viewership is minimal ! How can he claim that it played any role in the election?
The arguments these Morons are trying to set up is one in which “disparaging” a system is tantamount to tampering, haven’t they heard of the 1st Amendment ?
The other argument seems just as idiotic; like when McCain and Graham finally leave the Senate (on their butts or feet first) and we all cheer the event, will that mean that we would have had something to do with that ? Are we automatically suspects just because we would loudly cheer such and event ?
The news is using a lot of anonymous sources at the moment it seems, to conclude that wikileaks indeed got its data from the russians but through intermediaries so that it was ‘deniable’. So the first thing to do when the report actually goes public is what is really claimed and what is really proven, because the anonymous sources act as primers telling us how to read the upcoming report, interpreting it for us beforehand. But maybe the official report will claim far less
There seems to be a common factor in how mainstream media let people down, and it’s trust. It is acceptable that you do less checking on sources you trust than in sources you do not trust. In a way this is the case in science as well. Dissonant claims require more proof.
Not everyone will agree, but it’s easy to demand the highest criteria from the sidelines , that no mistakes should happen. What would be needed to make the mainstream media do their job with average competence, allowing for lots mistakes while still being effective?
I believe that mainstream media trust official sources far too much. I also think it should be their job not to trust official sources but act as a difficult and annoying character and scrutinize them.
Clapper needs to be jailed for crimes against the constitution.
No, he should be awarded your purple heart for doing his job so well. If he failed to convince the people that Russia is the boogeyman then that’s when he should be jailed. Or better still hung for treason.
You just don’t get it and that’s why the wacky world is in your own head.
Don – ask Santa for a brain next Christmas – or Hanukah..
He lied to congress about the illegal spying on Americans. That is worthy of a Purple Heart in your mind?
No rational person would feel this way…
Headline should read …
“Known and Proven Liar Who Should be in Jail for Lying to Congress claims without evidence Russian involvement in US Vote”.
Really dumb comment Darius and here’s why. If it was proven that Russia did hack then would that put you on the side of not improving relations with Russia? Yes, it would wouldn’t it and it would for probably 99% of Americans.
And that’s an illustration of how the goalposts have been moved. But so few are obviously missing that point and you can tell by their comments. it’s really fu–ing hopeless even here on antiwar.com.
I’ll be so glad when creeps like James Clapper are gone! What an asshole.
Obama really surrounded himself with some really bad people.
> Obama really was one of the really bad people.
Because of what Georgy just fed you? No. But you may have other valid reasons to think so? It’s just that you have betrayed the fact that you accept kneejerk demonizing that time.
Think about it and try to understand. I’m trying to help Americans to think on a little higher level.
luv from Canada.
> 8 years of bullshit (except not starting a war over Iran, gotta give that)
> kneejerk demonizing
No.
> I’m trying to help Americans to think on a little higher level.
Dude what
Really dumb Georgy. Obama didn’t creat foreign policy. It was created long before him. So in fact, Clapper is a smart spook just as the US would want them to be and that goes back to when spying agencies were invented.
What position would you expect the head spook to take? Smarten up Georgy, stupidity isn’t helpful.
luv from Canada.
Clapper was head of the Pentagon’s geo-satellite spook agency under Bush. His agency “assessed” Iraq had WMD’s. With that on his resume having a hard time understanding why O would promote him to DNI. Same for appointing Comey an assistant prosecutor on the Senate’s Whitewater investigation committee. Bet the Clinton’s were please as punch when O promoted Comey to head the FBI.
Realizing that ‘ad hominem’ attacks aren’t the best way to do things, but, aside from the ‘hacking’ taking place ‘on his watch’, what gives Jim Clapper any ‘bona fides’ on his ‘take’ of what happened?
Clapper could be the latest poster person for those of great clout being caught lying and having to be forced to admit it. Clapper wasn’t reading something Karl Rove had scripted for him – like Powell’s great WMD lies to the UN, he was even more culpable and every so much less ‘responsible’.
As it is, finding two ‘more’ play-for-pay cyber security firms to back up the sole source on the hacking – with some truly ludicrous ‘new’ evidence’ and then switching the emphasis to inserting ‘false news’ about the election in the US media (duh?) just makes Don Trump look the the genius in a concatenation of geese.
The Russian leaders were “glad Trump won.” That’s news! The other candidate was almost threatening a war with them, Everybody on Earth should be “glad Trump won”.
Your problem is Mikronos, as it is with so many others, is that it doesn’t matter if Russia did any hacking or not. All sides do!
THAT IS NO REASON FOR NOT IMPROVING RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA! Did everybody hear that?
It’s just that now that the goalposts have been moved, 99% (a guess) of Americans are going to find that as an evil sin by Russia and so a good reason to be their enemy.
It works every time and it’s working with even the people on this board who should be way more grownup and smart for that.
The article at Time.com even insinuates Assange knowingly took data from the russians: http://time.com/4625301/cia-russia-wikileaks-dnc-hacking/
Good thing Clapper is digging his hole even deeper. Apparently he thinks Russia Today is one of the most-read publications across America. I guess McCarthy was wrong, he underestimated… we’re all reds.
It does make on wonder how many Americans ‘do’ read RT. Likely very few because anything to do with Russia is considered as poisonous by most Americans. They’re indoctrinated and their heads are already well shrunk.
But it’s comforting to hear that Clapper and US spook agencies are at least concerned a bit!
luv from Canada.
This is interesting concerning RT’s ratings and reach. From Wikipedia.
“Reliable figures for RT’s worldwide audience are not available.[101] In the United States, RT typically pays cable and satellite services to carry its channel in subscriber packages.[118] In 2011, RT was the second most-watched foreign news channel in the United States (after BBC World News),[119] and the number one foreign network in five major U.S. urban areas in 2012.[120] It also rates well among younger Americans under 35 and among inner city areas.[120]”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT_(TV_network)
Wow, maybe my sarcasm was misplaced! With the megaphone of conservative talk radio on every other channel, it’s hard to remember how progressive and socialist this country actually is.
While I didn’t vote for either, I definitely disparaged Clinton quite a bit. And I never watched RT. Help me please. The Russians apparently hacked my brain.
Totally not like Radio Free America or whatever it is called and/or giving lead poisoning to democratically elected people via middlemen.
Great comment! Because you got the word ‘lead’ right. Now, when you have the opportunity to use the word ‘led’, get that right too. Being ‘led’ by the nose isn’t being ‘lead’ by the nose. One American at a time!
luv from Canada.
Basically he is saying that people totally didn’t vote as planned.
Who is “disparaging the system”, then?
What would be the best evidence that can be presented to Trump for proof the Russians did the hacking. And then how would that be declassified for the people’s consumption? Or in other words, what couldn’t be fabricated? Virtually noting really as long as it remained out of the realm of sky fairies and the supernatural. We’ll soon find out!
But let’s stop for a moment and put this in it’s proper perspective because too many people are getting ahead of themselves because they are being snookered by the spooks again.
There’s a very high possibility that the Russians did do the hacking and that’s because all countries are involved in hacking each other. And especially the countries that are involved in the new cold war. So yes, the Russians hacked, but it doesn’t matter, and that’s why everybody is being snookered by the spooks. And that’s not taking any credibility away from Assange of course. He’s just doing a fantastic job!
And now, let’s return ourselves to the real issue. Will Trump hold firm on his promise of better relations with the Russians? No, of course he won’t. But he does desire some vindication on how he won. He certainly doesn’t like people saying he cheated with the help of the Russians.
This was only meant for an illustration of how the spooks can move the goalposts. Or in other words, even if the Russians did hack in return for thousands of times the US did it to Russia, it can be used as an excuse to prevent any friendly or improved relations with Russia. Simply because that’s contrary to the US plans.
p.s. some understood this already but there’s a definite atmosphere of a lot of people not understanding.
Thomas, read my post below and help me out with this. That’s the mission to start with and you can tell by the comments that hardly anybody understands it. The goalposts were moved and that’s what makes it a slamdunk for the spooks even before we started. At least I believe that you understand what’s happened and inevitably what is going to happen.
If they hacked the election by altering votes that makes the case for paper ballots and recounts.
If they hacked the election by exposing the corruption of the DNC and the Hillary campaign
Give Putin the Pulitzer.
> If they hacked the election by altering votes that makes the case for paper ballots and recounts.
That case always exists. Paper trails are not hard to do even if you do electronic voting. Anything less is being lazy or worse.
According Gregg Palast the Republicans purged and gaged voter rolls in swing states to the effect of possibly altering the outcome of the election. Maybe the entire Repub party was in it together with Vlad. Or maybe the CIA is unhappy with the Donald’s take on Russia and are trying to delegitimize his Presidency before he is inaugurated or …
Or maybe Vlad had nothing to do with it.
Maybe the Democratic Party is ALSO so profoundly corrupt that they are beholden to the wealthy patron who own the party.
With the Obama administration backing the coup in Ukraine and rattling sabers at Russia’s border I would be surprised if he didn’t support someone other than Hillary.
That doesn’t mean he was involved in vote tampering.
I think Vlad will also be disappointed with Trump.
Let me get this straight….the U.S. spied on private Russian communications which indicated the Russians were pleased that Trump won the election, and then turned around and accused said Russians of tampering with the election, not even of just making Killary’s embarrassing emails public (which the Russians did not do). Wow…that’s convoluted.
I have more trust in Assange’s story that the information came from a far different source than the Russians. The U.S. unintelligence agencies are showing themselves to be totally stupid (by admitting the system was hacked)and incapable of even concocting a plausible scenario as to how and who actually did this. Trump is right to plan a complete shakeup of these buffoons.
In the meantime, let’s all forget about the actual crimes, Killary’s use of unsecured servers, manipulation of the election process, etc..
A question for everybody to consider: What in your mind would constitute evidence that Russia hacked the emails?
My answer is: Nothing other than Putin himself saying that he did.
Because: Anything else could be and will be fabricated to suit US ambitions. The program is now a cold war with Russia. And so any evidence that is presented doesn’t matter. Trump lost this one before he even started, and that’s presuming that he is even serious. Which he isn’t of course.
Evidence isn’t the issue, that’s only to where the goalposts have been moved. Anybody getting it yet?
luv from Canada.
James Clapper, Director of national intelligence apologizes to senators for lying about NSA spying https://www.rt.com/usa/clapper-lying-senate-nsa-568/
James Clapper, An admitted liar
For anyone who hasn’t heard the entire interview by Hannity on Assange, it’s all on utube now, divided into 5 parts.
It’s very informative and should give everyone a pretty good feeling on Assange and his high degree of credibility.
Fwiw, it’s probably most likely that the Russians did the hacking and passed it off to one of their spooks so it could be passed on to Assange. This because it’s in Assange’s best interests to not have to tell lies and that way he can truthfully say that it didn’t come from Russia. As far as he knows at least. This is how the game is usually played as our Thomas will likely know.
luv from Canada.
I can hardly wait until next week. Does it take that long to think up another fairy tale?