Tag Archives: 2016 elections

Bernie 2016 Staffers Complain Of Sexual Harassment

Talking Points Memo reports: As Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) gears up for another likely run at the presidency, women who worked on his last campaign are voicing their pain and anger after experiencing indignities including sexual harassment and pay inequality. As first reported by Politico, 2016 Bernie alums got the ball rolling Sunday with a letter to the senator’s campaign …

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Russian Trolls Promoted Jill Stein To Help Trump Win

NBC News reports: Building support for Jill Stein was one of a “roster of themes” the Moscow-sanctioned internet trolls “turned to repeatedly” in their effort to disrupt the election, according to a research team led by the New Knowledge cybersecurity firm. The researchers also found that the campaign to bolster Stein gained in intensity in the final days of the …

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Senate Gets New Report: Russia Targeted US Blacks In 2016 Effort To Suppress Turnout By Democratic Voters

The New York Times reports: The Russian influence campaign on social media in the 2016 election made an extraordinary effort to target African-Americans, used an array of tactics to try to suppress turnout among Democratic voters and unleashed a blizzard of posts on Instagram that rivaled or exceeded its Facebook operations, according to a report produced for the Senate Intelligence …

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Bernie Backers Battle DNC In Federal Appeals Court

Courthouse News reports: A group of Bernie Sanders supporters faced off against the Democratic National Committee before an 11th Circuit panel Tuesday, fighting to resurrect their claims that the committee shafted them by favoring Hillary Clinton over Sanders in the 2016 presidential primary. The Sanders supporters urged the Atlanta-based federal appeals court, which held hearings in Miami on Tuesday, to …

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Filing Shows Assange Has Been Charged Under Seal

The Washington Post reports: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been charged under seal, prosecutors inadvertently revealed in a recently unsealed court filing — a development that could significantly advance the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and have major implications for those who publish government secrets. The disclosure came in a filing in a case unrelated to Assange. …

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Hillary: My Fears About Trump Were Not Overblown

Hillary Clinton has penned an essay for The Atlantic. An excerpt: It’s been nearly two years since Donald Trump won enough Electoral College votes to become president of the United States. On the day after, in my concession speech, I said, “We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.” I hoped that my fears for our future …

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LIVE VIDEO: Social Media Heads Testify Before House

Already underway. The Washington Post reports: Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey tried to convince skeptical lawmakers Wednesday they are better prepared to combat foreign interference on their platforms than during the 2016 election. Sandberg and Dorsey delivered their message at a congressional hearing about countries such as Russia that seek to spread divisive political messages online using inauthentic …

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FBI Agent Peter Strzok Fired Over Anti-Trump Texts

The Washington Post reports: The FBI has fired Agent Peter Strzok, who helped lead the bureau’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election until officials discovered he had been sending anti-Trump texts. Aitan Goelman, Strzok’s lawyer, said FBI Deputy Director David L. Bowdich ordered the firing on Friday — even though the director of the FBI office that normally …

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Trump Lies To Steel Workers: I Won The Women’s Vote

Mediaite reports: During a Thursday Granite City, IL speech at one of U.S. Steel’s mill, Trump touted job numbers, giving himself a pat on the back for recent employment growth before erroneously claiming he secured the majority of the women’s vote. Addressing a cheering crowd, Trump said, “I did win that women’s vote, didn’t I? Remember? Remember they said, why …

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Jill Stein Spends Recount Cash On Russian Defense

The Daily Beast reports: Money that Jill Stein raised to recount votes in 2016 swing states is being used by her campaign to pay for legal bills stemming from the investigation of Russian interference in the last presidential election. In June, The Daily Beast reported that the the U.S. Green Party candidate’s campaign, which raised $7.3 million for recounts in …

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Trump Trolls Media For Saying He Couldn’t Win [VIDEO]

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump has tweeted a strange Simpsons-inspired video that portrays him as “Super Trump,” commenting that people didn’t used to “get it”—but they do now. In a Sunday night message, Trump shared the three-minute video, which features clips from cartoon The Simpsons, as well as footage from his election campaign, alongside a message aimed at his detractors. …

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Senate Intelligence Panel: Putin Was Helping Trump

CNN reports: Breaking with their House Republican counterparts, the Senate Intelligence Committee said Tuesday that the intelligence community properly concluded in January of last year that Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to help Donald Trump when Moscow meddled in the 2016 election. The Senate panel released a summary Tuesday of its examination of the intelligence community’s January 2017 assessment, …

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Former NSA Contractor Pleads Guilty To Leaking Govt Report On 2016 Russian Election Meddling [VIDEO]

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Reality Winner, the first person to be prosecuted by the Trump administration for leaking sensitive government information, pleaded guilty Tuesday to sending to the news media a top-secret National Security Agency report about Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Her plea agreement calls for her to serve five years and three months behind bars, though …

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James Comey Defends Actions In NYT Op-Ed: While I Disagree With IG’s Report, I Respect Its Professionalism

Comey just published an op-ed in The New York Times: The Department of Justice’s independent watchdog, the inspector general, has released a report that is critical of my decisions as F.B.I. director during the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s email account. The report concludes that I was wrong to announce the F.B.I.’s completion of the investigation without coordinating with the attorney …

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Treasury Department Hits Five Russian Companies With Sanctions For Cyberattacks And “Malicious Activities”

ABC News reports: The Trump administration on Monday slapped sanctions on several Russian companies and businessmen for engaging in cyberattacks and assisting Russia’s military and intelligence services with other malicious activities. The Treasury Department said it was imposing sanctions on five Russian firms and three of their executives under legislation passed last year and an executive order aimed at punishing …

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“Web Of Elite Russians” Met With NRA Before Election

McClatchy reports: Several prominent Russians, some in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle or high in the Russian Orthodox Church, now have been identified as having contact with National Rifle Association officials during the 2016 U.S. election campaign. The contacts have emerged amid a deepening Justice Department investigation into whether Russian banker and lifetime NRA member Alexander Torshin [photo] illegally channeled …

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Senate Intelligence Committee Confirms: Russia Did Interfere In 2016 Election To Benefit Trump Campaign

Fox News grudgingly reports: Senate Intelligence Committee leaders on Wednesday backed the 2017 intelligence community report that formally accused Russia of trying to interfere in the U.S. presidential election to boost then-candidate Donald Trump. Their statements followed a final closed-door interview on the matter with top Obama administration officials. The committee, led by Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Vice Chairman …

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Russian Facebook Ads Sought To Inflame Racial Discord

USA Today reports: The Russian company charged with orchestrating a wide-ranging effort to meddle in the 2016 presidential election overwhelmingly focused its barrage of social media advertising on what is arguably America’s rawest political division: race. The roughly 3,500 Facebook ads were created by the Russian-based Internet Research Agency, which is at the center of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s February …

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Russian Trolls Plead Not Guilty Of Pro-Trump Trolling

Politico reports: A Russian company tied to a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin entered a not-guilty plea Wednesday in a U.S. criminal case charging that it funded internet trolls and polarizing social media advertisements in a bid to boost Donald Trump’s chances of winning the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors from special counsel Robert Mueller’s office allege that the …

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Federal Court Rejects Mueller’s Request To Delay Troll Farm Case Against Russian Companies And Individuals

Politico reports: A federal judge has rejected special counsel Robert Mueller’s request to delay the first court hearing in a criminal case charging three Russian companies and 13 Russian citizens with using social media and other means to foment strife among Americans in advance of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In a brief order Saturday evening, U.S. District Court Judge …

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