Tag Archives: Russia

Reuters reports: Constitutional changes allowing Vladimir Putin to run for president again in 2024 sailed through Russia’s lower house of parliament on Wednesday, opening the way for him to potentially stay in power until 2036. The 450-seat State Duma, the lower house of parliament, on Wednesday voted in favor of the change, along with other amendments to the constitution, by …

The New York Times reports: President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said on Tuesday that he would support legislation that would allow him to run for a fifth term as president in 2024. The proposal, unexpectedly floated by a lawmaker at a session of Russia’s lower house of Parliament on Tuesday, would allow Mr. Putin — who is 67 years …

Reuters reports: Oil prices lost as much as a third of their value on Monday in their biggest daily rout since the 1991 Gulf War as Saudi Arabia and Russia signaled they would hike output in a market already awash with crude after their three-year supply pact collapsed. Despite sliding demand for crude due to the coronavirus, Riyadh made plans …

The Daily Beast reports: Russian propagandists have a new trick: Pushing a “news” app that poses as a “free streaming service,” but which is linked directly to the Russian propaganda outlet RT. Of course, the app doesn’t bother to disclose this. Dubbed “Portable.TV,” the new app went live a few months ago, according to its Apple Store history. Billing itself …

Just in via press release: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, U.S. Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray, U.S. Cyber Command Commander and National Security Agency Director Gen. Paul Nakasone, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump’s national security adviser said he’s seen no intelligence to show that Russia is interfering in the U.S. presidential campaign in hopes of reelecting President Donald Trump. Robert O’Brien’s comments come after conflicting accounts emerged from a recent closed-door briefing by intelligence officials, who spoke to lawmakers about Russian interference in the 2020 campaign. …

CNN reports: Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker warned Russia is “trying to interfere in 2020” during remarks at the Oxford Union in the UK on Friday, remarks that came after it was revealed that a Capitol Hill briefing on Russia’s continued election interference had angered President Donald Trump. CNN has obtained a recording of Whitaker’s remarks. Whitaker, who replaced …

The Washington Post reports: U.S. officials have told Sen. Bernie Sanders that Russia is attempting to help his presidential campaign as part of an effort to interfere with the Democratic contest, according to people familiar with the matter. President Trump and lawmakers on Capitol Hill have also been informed about the Russian assistance to the Vermont senator, according to people …

Reuters reports: The Kremlin said on Friday that allegations from U.S. intelligence officials that Russia is interfering in the 2020 election campaign and trying to boost President Donald Trump’s re-election chances are false and the result of paranoia. A person familiar with the matter said on Thursday that U.S. intelligence officials had told U.S. lawmakers last week that Russia was …

The New York Times reports: Intelligence officials warned House lawmakers last week that Russia was interfering in the 2020 campaign to try to get President Trump re-elected, five people familiar with the matter said, in a disclosure that angered Mr. Trump, who complained that Democrats would use it against him. The day after the Feb. 13 briefing to lawmakers, Mr. …

The Daily Beast reports: President Trump offered to pardon Julian Assange if he agreed to cover up the involvement of Russia in hacking emails from the Democratic National Committee, which were later published by WikiLeaks, a London court was told Wednesday. Lawyers acting for Assange have argued that the Australian should not be extradited to the U.S. because the case …

The Associated Press reports: Russian pranksters claim they called U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders pretending to be climate activist Greta Thunberg and offered Thunberg’s support to his campaign. Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexey Stolyarov, who have fooled many high-profile victims around the world, posted a recording of the phone call on YouTube on Thursday. The call itself took place in …

Reuters reports: President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia would not legalize gay marriage as long as he was in the Kremlin. He made clear he would not allow the traditional notion of mother and father to be subverted. “As far as ‘parent number 1’ and ‘parent number 2’ goes, I’ve already spoken publicly about this and I’ll repeat it …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump has proposed a 25 percent cut to the signature military fund designed to offset Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, according to the Defense Department’s budget documents unveiled Monday. Budget proposals for fiscal 2021 released Monday afternoon call for $4.5 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative, a fund started by the Obama administration in …

The Insider reports: French police believe that the killing of a blogger from the disputed Russian region of Chechnya in a French hotel room last week was “politically motivated,” a French police official briefed on the case said. The official said the police were now hunting for the blogger’s traveling companion, who disappeared shortly after the killing. French investigators wish …

Politico reports: The leader of Russia’s pro-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, congratulated President Trump for his acquittal in the Senate and suggested that he and members of his party, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, visit Trump’s Florida estate to “raise glass to your success.” Zhirinovsky went on to denounce House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as well as Sen. Mitt …

Radio Free Europe reports: Artyom Lapov, a lawyer from the gay rights group Stimul, said on February 7 that jurors at the trial at the Basmanny district court found Anton Berezhnoi not guilty of murder in the beating of Roman Yedalov, instead convicting him of a lesser charge of assault. Investigators say Berezhnoi attacked Yedalov and his partner, Yevgeny Yefimov, …

The BBC reports: The American founder of US-based militant neo-Nazi group The Base is directing the organisation from Russia, a BBC investigation has found. Rinaldo Nazzaro, 46, who uses the aliases “Norman Spear” and “Roman Wolf”, left New York for St Petersburg less than two years ago. The Base is a major counter terrorism focus for the FBI. Seven alleged …

NBC News reports: Presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) sued Hillary Clinton for defamation in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday, claiming Clinton lied about her to harm her campaign. “Clinton falsely stated that Tulsi—an Army National Guard officer and United States Congresswoman who has spent her entire adult life serving this country—is a ‘Russian asset.’ Clinton’s false assertions were …

The Daily Beast reports: Police in Switzerland reportedly uncovered a Russian spying operation in Davos, where world leaders are meeting this week for the annual World Economic Forum. Police arrested two Russian men in the Alpine town last August after they were alerted to their suspiciously long stay in the resort. The men had allegedly claimed diplomatic protections, but had …