Russia

The Hill reports: The Russian troll farms that carried out a sophisticated disinformation campaign on U.S. social media platforms in 2016 may have influenced President Trump’s standing in public opinion polls during the campaign, according to a new study released Monday. Researchers at the University of Tennessee said that for every 25,000 retweets each week by the Internet Research Agency …

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump insisted he did confront Vladimir Putin about the prospect of Moscow meddling in the U.S. 2020 election, following criticism of his light-hearted admonishment of his Russian counterpart at this week’s G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan. Trump smirked when he waved his finger and said to Putin “don’t meddle in the election, please,” after he was …

The Associated Press reports: Donald Trump on Saturday dismissed former President Jimmy Carter’s swipe at the legitimacy of his presidency, calling it nothing more than a “Democrat talking point,” while offering his own digs at the 94-year-old Carter. Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Japan, Trump said he was surprised by the former president’s comments alleging that Russian …

Politico reports: Former President Jimmy Carter questioned the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s presidency on Thursday, saying he would likely not be in the White House if the Russians did not interfere in the 2016 presidential elections. “I think a full investigation would show that Trump didn’t actually win the election in 2016. He lost the election, and he was put …

The Independent reports: Donald Trump has joked with Vladimir Putin during a meeting at the G20 in Japan over their shared disdain for journalists who write stories they do not approve of. “Get rid of them. Fake news is a great term, isn’t it? You don’t have this problem in Russia, but we do,” Mr Trump was quoted as telling …

The Guardian reports: Putin tried to defend Russia’s record on LGBT+ rights. “I am not trying to insult anyone because we have been condemned for our alleged homophobia. But we have no problem with LGBT persons. God forbid, let them live as they wish,” Putin said. “But some things do appear excessive to us. They claim now that children can …

The BBC reports: US President Donald Trump has appeared to make light of Russian election interference during a meeting with the country’s leader, Vladimir Putin. A smirking Mr Trump wagged his finger at the Russian president and said: “Don’t meddle in the election, please.” The pair were holding talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan. It was …

Axios reports: In an interview at the annual Aspen Ideas Festival, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called for the federal government to shoulder the burden in election security, saying the social network doesn’t “have the tools to make the Russian government stop.” Over the past year, the Facebook CEO has continued to explain and defend the tech company’s stance on data …

The Guardian reports: Suspected Russian spies floated a series of fake stories on social media including a claim that Remainers were planning to kill Boris Johnson and that the novichok used in the Salisbury attack came from the Real IRA, a new study shows. The operation was done to provoke tensions between western countries. It was persistent, sophisticated and well-resourced, …

The Hill reports: President Trump in a new interview would not commit to addressing foreign election interference with Russian President Vladimir Putin when they meet at the G20 summit later this month. Asked by host Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press” if he’d directly address the issue with Putin, Trump said, “I may.” “Are you going to tell him …

The New York Times reports: The United States is stepping up digital incursions into Russia’s electric power grid in a warning to President Vladimir V. Putin and a demonstration of how the Trump administration is using new authorities to deploy cybertools more aggressively, current and former government officials said. Advocates of the more aggressive strategy said it was long overdue, …

The New York Times reports: A raft of legislation intended to better secure United States election systems after what the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, called a “sweeping and systematic” Russian attack in 2016 is running into a one-man roadblock in the form of the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. McConnell, long the Senate’s leading ideological opponent …

The BBC reports: A Russian warship and a US warship have come close to collision in the western Pacific Ocean, with each side blaming the other for the incident. Russia’s Pacific Fleet said the cruiser USS Chancellorsville crossed just 50 metres (160ft) in front of the destroyer Admiral Vinogradov at 06:35 Moscow time (03:35 GMT). It was forced to perform …

NBC News reports: The effort by a Russian internet deception factory to manipulate American public opinion during the 2016 election was better planned and executed — and also more lucrative — than previously understood, according to a new analysis of nearly 10 million tweets by a leading cybersecurity firm. The operation by the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency amounted to …

Mediaite reports: Evidenced by his Twitter feed, President Donald Trump woke up Thursday morning with Special Counsel Robert Mueller — and his stunning nine-minute press conference — very much on his mind. In a remarkable development, however, it appears that Trump is publicly admitting, for the first time at least, that Russia interference helped get him elected president, as has …

The Washington Post reports: Former secretary of state Rex Tillerson told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Russian President Vladimir Putin out-prepared President Trump during a key meeting in Germany, putting the U.S. leader at a disadvantage during their first series of tête-à-têtes. The U.S. side anticipated a shorter meeting for exchanging courtesies, but it ballooned into a …

The Hill reports: Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of Senate GOP leadership, said Wednesday that the chamber is unlikely to vote on any election security legislation, despite requests from a federal agency for more funding to improve election systems nationwide. Blunt made the remarks at a Senate Rules Committee hearing where Election Assistance Commission (EAC) officials highlighted what they …

The Hill reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday praised special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections as “objective.” “On the whole he had a very objective investigation and he confirmed that there are no traces whatsoever of collusion between Russia and the incumbent administration, which we said was absolutely fake,” Putin said during …

The Associated Press reports: On his first trip to Russia as U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo warned his Russian counterpart against any “unacceptable” Russian meddling in U.S. elections. At a news conference following three hours of meetings Tuesday, Pompeo said he told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that any such action by the Russians in the 2020 elections “would …

CBS News reports: As the U.S. and China inch closer to an all-out trade war, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton says that the sacrifice Americans will pay for President Trump’s tariffs are “minimal” compared to those serving overseas. President Trump has maintained that Americans would not be fronting the brunt of the cost for tariffs, but many, including the president’s own …