Better late than never if Trump can’t deliver!
Russia seized the American Embassy properties (Country house and a warehouse used by the Enbassy) today and expelled multiple diplomats in what is believed to be a response to the sanctions act on Trump’s desk.
Richard Engel is reporting from Moscow on whether or not Trump will side with Russia or side with Russia over the sanctions bill put on his desk. He just announced breaking news that Trump will sign the legislation.
The long campaign Engel is talking about includes Kaspersky Labs' involvement with computer security programs used in U.S.
Engel interviewed Eugene Kaspersky...asking if the company is a guard or intruder!
Kaspersky’s software is installed on millions of computers around the world. He denies working with the Russians and said that he didn’t want the public to know he was working with police with a secret program to catch cyber intruders.
Kaspersky software is on our government computers as well as private. Sen. Shaheen was interviewed during this segment about classified briefings and said she is introducing legislation to prohibit Kaspersky software from being used on gov’t computers.
From the CIA, national security and more ALL said they would not be comfortable using kaspersky software. kaspersky said that the software scans all the data because that is the nature of the cybersecurity business.
Robert Anderson, former FBI overseer of cyber criminal activity said that he would be looking into Kaspersky if he were still with the bureau.
HOLY COW! Eugene Kaspersky went to KGB school when he was young and a math expert. He played down the involvement. He was a military computer guy for the KGB when he left school.
His personal fortune is at $1.4 billion dollars, yet he claims he has nothing to do with the government or oligarchs in Russia.
Kaspersky even booked (get ready for it) — Michael Flynn as a paid speaker at one of his conference a while back! (What exactly are Flynn’s qualifications in cyber security, I wonder”)
Kaspersky says that questioning his company as a “witch-hunt”, although his virginia offices have been vacated and the software has been put on a prohibited list. He said he won’t be coming back to the u.s. any time soon. (Where have we heard that phase before?)
He HAS offered to give the source code to U.S. Intelligence agencies, but U.S. officials ask if that would be the real the source code!
Sen. Shaheen said she doen’t know if Kaspersky had any role in the influence in hacking the election, but one of the Russians arrested as a suspected U.S. double agent had ties to Kaspersky.
Tit for tat
The seizure of the U.S. Embassy country house and a warehouse today were equivalents to the properties seized in the u.s.
The Embassy personnel expelled leave the exact number of U.S. diplomats in Russia as the same as the number of russian diplomats that remain in the states.
Engel is tying in Algier Hiss, Ables (the spy swapped for the U2 plane, Gary Powers), Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanson who worked for the KGB for $1.5 million.
(This is starting to get very serious as, in my mind.)
Engel then tied in Kaspersky and Flynn and jumped to Putin’s re-opening the intense Russian spy network in the U.S. He brought up three Russian agents caught in NY in 2015 who were fed a document with a hidden microphone where they were overheard talking about an idiot they were trying to recruit...Carter Page!
Free Cheese can only be found in a mousetrap!
This is a Russian saying about recruiting those who can be used for nefarious purposes. Engel said “we took the bait”— he linked the Trump meeting between Jr and Kushner to that “bait” and then suggested the real purpose of that meeting was to set up Trump for failure!
Engel showed the meeting with Putin and Trump at the G20. Then, he interviewed a former CIA officer who said that Putin’s goals are to be on same stage, be a global player and have recognition as a major figure on that stage,
That officer said Putin was “channeling the Brothers Grimm” by leaving a trail of bread crumbs that lead straight back to the Kremlin to set the Trump administration up for failure. This officer said that the “cheese” was bait regarding Clinton. Putin was counting on the American media to uncover the crumbs and expose the meeting, thereby, disrupt our governing process and drive a wedge in America. It worked.
Engel said Trump Jr was not the first targeted. Carter Page was the dupe who had sympathies toward Russia, worked for Gasprom and had little awareness of his being sucked into the ruse.
Engel showed an interview with Page who comes across as completely naive (idiot, as described by the three arrested Russian spies) as to tactics of the Russians — Engel reminded Page of the Russian attache who contacted Page and asked for documents and was later arrested and convicted as a spy. Moscow renewed interest in Page after Trump named him (Page) as an advisor on all things Russia.
Page had no clue that the Moscow contact after that announcement was looking for “contamination” that the media would gloam onto. This was part of the deliberate trap to destroy Trump. Russian intelligence officers have a saying that “useful idiots can do the work for us” according the former CIA officer. When Engel asked him if Trump fitted into that category (useful idiot), the CIA replied, “No Comment!"
Are the Russians covering their tracks?
Engel said that inauguration parties were held all over Russia when Trump won. Now, however, those who may have direct knowledge of the hacking have been arrested for "treason". He interviewed one of the authors of The Red Web who said the Russian government is now in a containment phase, trying to prevent those involved in the U.S. hacking from talking.
The first man arrested was a member of Kaspersky Labs as he was leaving Russia. Ruslan Stoyanov and his deputy, Sergei Mikhailov and his contact, a hacker turned spy, Dmitry Dokuchaiev, plus another man (four in total) were arrested and accused of treason.
A Russian Journalist for Kommersant, Novaya Gazeta, got into the prison where they are being held. She reported they are very disappointed because they thought they were doing what the government wanted them to do. They weren’t treasonous, they were helping but were “rolled up” for knowing too much.
IF the Russians were hoping...
that this would reverse the sanctions, now it won’t happen. Engel interviewed a Russian senator who said now Trump is alone and it is very difficult for him. The Russian senator claimed the U.S. has no right to punish the world...no right to rule the world. He claimed Russia did nothing as a state and did not interfere in the election. (Interesting “qualification”, no?)
The real tell was when this Russian government official said Trump “is not so powerful like previous American presidents...”. (That should go over well in Trump’s Russian bromance!)
They took that information and weaponized it!
Perhaps, Engel said, the goal was not to get Trump elected, but to sow chaos — which they have done!
Engel said that people are looking for the “fire” since everyone knows where there is smoke… but, while there may be "fire”, smoke is also dangerous"