Tag Archives: Russia

The Guardian reports: Donald Trump was cultivated as a Russian asset over 40 years and proved so willing to parrot anti-western propaganda that there were celebrations in Moscow, a former KGB spy has told the Guardian. Yuri Shvets, posted to Washington by the Soviet Union in the 1980s, compares the former US president to “the Cambridge five”, the British spy …

The Daily Mail reports: Donald Trump was cultivated as a Russian asset more than 40 years ago which exploded into a decades-long ‘relationship’ of mutual benefit to both Russia and Trump, a shocking new book claims. Trump was rescued multiple times from multiple bankruptcies by boatloads of Russian cash laundered through his real estate in the 80s and 90s, the …

The Associated Press reports: Russian lawmakers on Wednesday quickly approved the extension of the last remaining nuclear Russia-U.S. arms control, a fast-track action that comes just days before it’s due to expire. Both houses of parliament voted unanimously to extend the New START treaty for five years, a day after a phone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian …

The Associated Press reports: President Joe Biden had his first call with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, raising concerns about the arrest of opposition figure Alexei Navalny while pressing the Russian president on his nation’s involvement in a massive cyber espionage campaign and bounties on American troops in Afghanistan, two senior administration officials said. Biden has looked to establish a sharp …

Politico reports: The FBI is investigating evidence that a woman who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 stole a laptop or hard drive from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and intended to sell it to Russians. The bizarre claim, which the FBI emphasized remains under investigation, was included in an affidavit describing the criminal case against Riley June Williams, a Pennsylvania …

The Guardian reports: Russia said on Monday that its coronavirus death toll was more than three times higher than it had previously reported, making it the country with the third-largest number of fatalities. For months, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has boasted about Russia’s low fatality rate from the virus, saying earlier this month that it had done a better …

Reuters reports: Russia’s president Vladimir Putin will receive the Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a Russian state TV channel on Sunday. “He said he will be vaccinated, he made this decision and was waiting until all formalities are completed,” the spokesman was quoted as saying to Rossiya 1 TV Channel on its website. 68-year-old …

The Guardian reports: Vladimir Putin has signed legislation that will grant former presidents of Russia lifetime immunity once they leave office. The bill, which was published online on Tuesday, gives former presidents and their families immunity from prosecution for crimes committed during their lifetime. They will also be exempt from questioning by police or investigators, as well as searches or …

CBS News reports: Email accounts used by the Treasury Department’s senior leadership were compromised by suspected Russian government hackers who carried out a massive cyber-espionage campaign against several U.S. federal agencies, according to Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon. The ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee said the “full depth” of the Treasury hack “isn’t known.” Senate Finance Committee staff …

The Hill reports: Attorney General William Barr on Monday said that Russia is likely behind the unprecedented hack into multiple federal agencies and thousands of private entities, becoming the second senior administration official to place the blame on Moscow in contradiction to statements by President Trump. The attorney general said that he agrees with the assessment by Secretary of State …

“I was disappointed with the president’s comment. But I think we’ve come to recognize that the president has a blind spot when it comes to Russia. “And the reality here is that the experts, the people who really understand how our systems work and how computers work and software and so forth, the thousands upon thousands at the CIA and …

CNN reports: White House officials had drafted a statement assigning blame to Russia for the attack and were preparing to release it Friday afternoon but were told to stand down, according to people familiar with the plans. Officials initially weren’t told why the statement was pulled back. The statement placed blame on Russia for orchestrating the attack but left open …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump commented for the first time on Saturday on the hacking campaign that has torn through U.S. government and businesses that many experts believe is the work of Russian intelligence and downplayed the security breach as well as attempted to deflect blame away from Russia. Trump’s comments contradict what members of his own government have …

The Independent reports: President Donald Trump has today tweeted another election result rant but continues to stay silent on claims Russia was responsible for a massive cyberattack on the US. Meanwhile, Mike Pompeo has claimed that Russia carried out the cyberattack that targeted a number of federal agencies, including the nuclear weapons agency. Mr Pompeo’s sentiments were echoed by Senator …

Politico reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo publicly blamed Russia for the monthslong cyber hack of agencies across the U.S. government. “This was a very significant effort, and I think it’s the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity,” Pompeo told radio host Mark Levin in an interview released …

The Associated Press reports: Federal authorities expressed increased alarm today about a long-undetected intrusion into U.S. and other computer systems around the globe that officials suspect was carried out by Russian hackers. The nation’s cybersecurity agency warned of a “grave” risk to government and private networks. The hack compromised federal agencies and “critical infrastructure” in a sophisticated attack that was …

From a statement issued today by Joe Biden: I have instructed my team to learn as much as we can about this breach, and Vice President-elect Harris and I are grateful to the career public servants who have briefed our team on their findings and who are working around-the-clock to respond to this attack. A good defense isn’t enough; we …

Mediaite reports: Senator Mitt Romney is the rarest of breeds currently serving in the U.S. Senate: an elected Republican willing to criticize President Donald Trump. The latest example came on Thursday afternoon after news broke of a massive cyberattack reportedly carried out by Russia. Romney was mocked when, during his 2012 bid for the White House, he named Russia as …

Bloomberg News reports: The U.S. nuclear weapons agency and at least three states were hacked as part of a suspected Russian cyber-attack that struck several federal government agencies. The Energy Department and its National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains America’s nuclear stockpile, were targeted as part of a larger attack by suspected Russian hackers. In an advisory Thursday that signaled …

The Associated Press reports: Russia was banned Thursday from using its name, flag and anthem at the next two Olympics or at any world championships for the next two years. The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling also blocked Russia from bidding to host major sporting events for two years. Russian athletes and teams will still be allowed to compete …