Former CIA Director Brennan: Votes were swayed by Russian influence operation

[webfact]

Former CIA Director Brennan: Votes were swayed by Russian influence operation

By Raphael Satter

 

FILE PHOTO: Former CIA director John Brennan speaks during a forum on election security titled, “2020 Vision: Intelligence and the U.S. Presidential Election” at the National Press Club in Washington, U.S., October 30, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former CIA Director John Brennan said on Wednesday that at least some American voters were swayed as a result of Russia's 2016 election interference operation, a statement that went further than the official assessments of U.S. intelligence agencies and lawmakers.

 

Speaking alongside other former intelligence figures at the National Press Club in Washington, Brennan said he was “sure, personally, that those Russian efforts changed the mind of at least one voter.”

 

“Whether it was one voter or a million voters, I don’t know," he added. 

 

Brennan, who led the CIA from 2013 to 2017 during Democratic President Barack Obama's administration, said he was speaking on his own behalf, noting that the impact on the vote was something the CIA “did not assess.”

 

But he said there was no question there was some effect – possibly affecting the final result itself, which brought Republican Donald Trump to the presidency.    

 

“How many, in which states, I don’t know. Whether it changed the outcome, I don’t know,” Brennan said.    

 

Brennan has been a sharp critic of Trump. Last year, the president revoked Brennan’s security clearance for making what he called “unfounded and outrageous allegations” about his administration.

 

Brennan's comments on Wednesday contrasted with conclusions published after a series of official investigations into the hacking, leaks and social media influence campaign carried out by Russian hackers in the run-up to the 2016 presidential contest. Moscow has denied interfering in the election.

 

U.S. officials have generally been careful not to make any public judgment on whether voters had their minds changed by Russian actions. Last year, lawmakers said in a report there was “no evidence of changed votes,” although they were referring to voting machines and digital tallies.

 

(Reporting by Raphael Satter; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-10-31

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[stevenl]

He is absolutely correct, of course there were voters who were swayed. How many???

[Tug]

Trump eked out a win with 70,000 votes across 3 states to win the electoral college that’s not much perhaps they did swing the election and bring this disaster on the USA and the rest of the world 

[LiamB80]

I voted for Trump and what influenced me to do that was Hillary was a terrible candidate. Her health was also a major factor in my voting. I thought to myself, how’s it gonna look when she flops on the floor from a seizure and pees her pants in important overseas meetings. Russia had zero influence.

[stevenl]

1 minute ago, LiamB80 said:

I voted for Trump and what influenced me to do that was Hillary was a terrible candidate. Her health was also a major factor in my voting. I thought to myself, how’s it gonna look when she flops on the floor from a seizure and pees her pant in important overseas meetings. Russia had zero influence.

You really have no idea how opinions are influenced. You say you were not influenced by Russia, and claim as well that her health was a major factor. On top of that, even if for you it had zero influence, which I don't believe, there were 60 million other Trump voters.

[Berkshire]

10 minutes ago, LiamB80 said:

I voted for Trump and what influenced me to do that was Hillary was a terrible candidate. Her health was also a major factor in my voting. I thought to myself, how’s it gonna look when she flops on the floor from a seizure and pees her pants in important overseas meetings. Russia had zero influence.

A big part of the Russia influence campaign was to attack Hillary Clinton, including her health, candidacy, etc.  So it looks like you were influenced by the Russians.   

[LiamB80]

22 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

A big part of the Russia influence campaign was to attack Hillary Clinton, including her health, candidacy, etc.  So it looks like you were influenced by the Russians.   

Did Russia make her have a seizure that was recorded on video? Did Russia make her get thrown in a van like a slab of meat by secret service agents because she was wobbly and on the verge of passing out? Did Russia put those syphilis lesions on her tongue? Did Russia make her use a catheter because she can’t hold her bladder in public? The msm tried to hide these incidents. The voting public has a right to know. Russia made you believe they had influence when they really didn’t. That’s the real power. People like you believed it and were suckered into thinking that.

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

He is absolutely correct, of course there were voters who were swayed. How many???

1 is 1 too many.

[Chomper Higgot]

4 minutes ago, LiamB80 said:

Did Russia make her have a seizure that was recorded on video? Did Russia make her get thrown in a van like a slab of meat by secret service agents because she was wobbly and on the verge of passing out? Did Russia put those syphilis lesions on her tongue? Did Russia make her use a catheter because she can’t hold her bladder in public? The msm tried to hide these incidents. The voting public has a right to know. Russia made you believe they had influence when they really didn’t. That’s the real power. People like you believed it and were suckered into thinking that.

And you double down by posting more of the Russian anti Clinton Propaganda.

 

 

[LiamB80]

3 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

And you double down by posting more of the Russian anti Clinton Propaganda.

 

 

I saw this with my own eyes. Unless Russia is somehow in my retina and manipulating what I see, they didn’t influence anything. $100k worth of facebook adds was discovered. That’s a very small amount of influence. In the age of the internet, it’s hard to stop that. Did Russia make Hillary not even once go to battleground states and campaign in the Midwest where she lost? So many excuses from the left. Own up to it, she was a terrible candidate.

[stevenl]

27 minutes ago, LiamB80 said:

I saw this with my own eyes. Unless Russia is somehow in my retina and manipulating what I see, they didn’t influence anything. $100k worth of facebook adds was discovered. That’s a very small amount of influence. In the age of the internet, it’s hard to stop that. Did Russia make Hillary not even once go to battleground states and campaign in the Midwest where she lost? So many excuses from the left. Own up to it, she was a terrible candidate.

Yes, she was a terrible candidate. Does that statement have anything to do with proven Russian election meddling, no.

[Unify]

It's a very different thing saying, 'no voting machines were compromised in the hacking attempts', and 'no voters were swayed'.

 

From what I can tell, people are easily fooled. If I was looking for a group to con, a group that believes two of every kind of animal fit on a 400 foot boat would be a good place to start.

[metisdead]

A troll post using a trolling representation of Trump's name has been removed. 

[bristolboy]

5 hours ago, LiamB80 said:

Did Russia make her have a seizure that was recorded on video? Did Russia make her get thrown in a van like a slab of meat by secret service agents because she was wobbly and on the verge of passing out? Did Russia put those syphilis lesions on her tongue? Did Russia make her use a catheter because she can’t hold her bladder in public? The msm tried to hide these incidents. The voting public has a right to know. Russia made you believe they had influence when they really didn’t. That’s the real power. People like you believed it and were suckered into thinking that.

That you  believe it was a seizure shows that you were influenced. I remember those ridiculous doctored fake videos of the so-called seizure. Where do you think those doctored videos were coming from?

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hillary-clinton-seizure-video/

[Tug]

7 hours ago, LiamB80 said:

I voted for Trump and what influenced me to do that was Hillary was a terrible candidate. Her health was also a major factor in my voting. I thought to myself, how’s it gonna look when she flops on the floor from a seizure and pees her pants in important overseas meetings. Russia had zero influence.

Ahhhhh you do know her health was one of the major parts of the russan disinformation campaign don’t you?

[atyclb]

6 hours ago, LiamB80 said:

7 hours ago, Berkshire said:

A big part of the Russia influence campaign was to attack Hillary Clinton, including her health, candidacy, etc.  So it looks like you were influenced by the Russians.   

Did Russia make her have a seizure that was recorded on video? Did Russia make her get thrown in a van like a slab of meat by secret service agents because she was wobbly and on the verge of passing out? Did Russia put those syphilis lesions on her tongue? Did Russia make her use a catheter because she can’t hold her bladder in public? The msm tried to hide these incidents. The voting public has a right to know. Russia made you believe they had influence when they really didn’t. That’s the real power. People like you believed it and were suckered into thinking that.

 

seems the best bet to win in 2020 is for the democrats to hire the russians to manage their campaign

[bristolboy]

11 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

seems the best bet to win in 2020 is for the democrats to hire the russians to manage their campaign

Well, if they can get Trump elected, then they can get anyone elected.

[Tug]

1 hour ago, atyclb said:

 

seems the best bet to win in 2020 is for the democrats to hire the russians to manage their campaign

Naaa Donald allready hired them after all he is the best asset the russan federation ever had

[LawrenceN]

2 hours ago, bristolboy said:

That you  believe it was a seizure shows that you were influenced. I remember those ridiculous doctored fake videos of the so-called seizure. Where do you think those doctored videos were coming from?

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hillary-clinton-seizure-video/

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. "Why isn't she in jail?" the righties like to ask? The answer: because she's never committed a crime. She was the target of a 25-year smear campaign. Whitewater! Benghazi! Husband's <deleted>! Child porn ring in a pizza parlor basement! All repeated ad nauseum, because she was perceived to be such a threat. She proved herself to be a capable senator and competent Secretary of State, and would have been a fine POTUS. Look at the shambles we've got instead.

[Becker]

49 minutes ago, LawrenceN said:

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. "Why isn't she in jail?" the righties like to ask? The answer: because she's never committed a crime. She was the target of a 25-year smear campaign. Whitewater! Benghazi! Husband's <deleted>! Child porn ring in a pizza parlor basement! All repeated ad nauseum, because she was perceived to be such a threat. She proved herself to be a capable senator and competent Secretary of State, and would have been a fine POTUS. Look at the shambles we've got instead.

Would be hard to find someone less suited for the job than Trump even if you tried.

[atyclb]

1 hour ago, bristolboy said:

2 hours ago, atyclb said:

 

seems the best bet to win in 2020 is for the democrats to hire the russians to manage their campaign

Well, if they can get Trump elected, then they can get anyone elected.

 

agree, therefore their candidate would stand a chance

[atyclb]

1 hour ago, Tug said:

2 hours ago, atyclb said:

 

seems the best bet to win in 2020 is for the democrats to hire the russians to manage their campaign

Naaa Donald allready hired them after all he is the best asset the russan federation ever had

 

kazahkstan more capable to meddle in elections anyway

 

(humour post not troll)

[Tippaporn]

9 hours ago, stevenl said:

You really have no idea how opinions are influenced. You say you were not influenced by Russia, and claim as well that her health was a major factor. On top of that, even if for you it had zero influence, which I don't believe, there were 60 million other Trump voters.

You really have no idea how opinions are influenced.

 

That's rich coming from a Trump hater.  No has has influenced you to hate Trump, right?

 

The Russian interference narrative I believe is a complete scam.

 

Brennan:

 

“Whether it was one voter or a million voters, I don’t know."

“How many, in which states, I don’t know."

"Whether it changed the outcome, I don’t know.”

 

The head of the CIA and he's clueless.  But to be sure, it's veeeery real.  LOL

[EVENKEEL]

Why didn't the Obama Admin. battle the Russian interference? 

[gk10002000]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

Votes were swayed by Russian influence operation

So what?  Many countries, organizations, companies, etc.  have newspapers, websites, etc. and those speak to or about elections in their own or other countries.  Those all influence how people vote.  People read and see and hear things, then go vote.

[gk10002000]

10 hours ago, Berkshire said:

A big part of the Russia influence campaign was to attack Hillary Clinton, including her health, candidacy, etc.  So it looks like you were influenced by the Russians.   

How did the Russian influence campaign attack her?  In what manner?  Cite a publication.  Cite an article. Many many people and news stations were against her and some stations were against Trump.   She and her husband were their own worse enemies. 

[chokrai]

10 hours ago, Berkshire said:

A big part of the Russia influence campaign was to attack Hillary Clinton, including her health, candidacy, etc.  So it looks like you were influenced by the Russians.   

Or it could have been seeing her flop around like a drunken hobo.

[gk10002000]

Votes were swayed by Russian influence operation

 

Swayed which way?  Maybe people saw the diatribe and decided it was a poor attack and voted for Clinton!  There is no data showing and certainly not proving anything in either direction

[riclag]

5 hours ago, Tippaporn said:

You really have no idea how opinions are influenced.

 

That's rich coming from a Trump hater.  No has has influenced you to hate Trump, right?

 

The Russian interference narrative I believe is a complete scam.

 

Brennan:

 

“Whether it was one voter or a million voters, I don’t know."

“How many, in which states, I don’t know."

"Whether it changed the outcome, I don’t know.”

 

The head of the CIA and he's clueless.  But to be sure, it's veeeery real.  LOL

Brennan is a political hack! More disinformation by this traitor! They,the IC knew in 2014 according to this politico piece,that the Russians were coming and interfering !  

 

"There was no explicit warning of a threat to U.S. elections, but the official said some diplomats and national security officials in Moscow felt the administration was too quick to dismiss the possibility that the Kremlin incursions could reach the United States".

“People have criticized us ... for not coming out more forcefully and saying it,” former CIA Director John Brennan said at the Aspen National Forum in July. “There was no playbook for this.”

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/14/obama-russia-election-interference-241547

 

So  they (brennen ,comey and clapper) didn't tell the Trump administration that,especially when they were doing a counter intel on a incursion in 2016, 2 years later !  IMOP it was  a way to delitigitmize the Trump election, while claiming after, the past admin couldn't tell Trump, cause it would look like they were interfering. I suppose that will come out in the criminal investigation that Durham is heading 

 

[Tippaporn]

10 hours ago, bristolboy said:

That you  believe it was a seizure shows that you were influenced. I remember those ridiculous doctored fake videos of the so-called seizure. Where do you think those doctored videos were coming from?

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hillary-clinton-seizure-video/

Using Snopes as verification of doctored videos!  LOL  How would they know?  Where is their evidence?  Oh, that's right.  They don't need to produce any!  Another tainted liberal outlet.  Wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them.

 

There were so many videos of instances where Clinton was obviously having health issues.  Everything from what appeared to be seizures to collapses to uncontrollable coughing.  It's mind boggling that posters can't bring themselves to believe facts that are wholly apparent with your own eyes.  And even more mind boggling that they think they can somehow convince others to deny what they're actually seeing for themselves.  The level of denial is astounding.

 

Yeah, where were those "doctored" videos coming from, bristolboy?  Where is there the slightest evidence that any of them were produced by the Russians?  There is none.  It's all made up.  There's no truth for it.  Just another narrative that fits with what people desperately want to believe.  Perhaps you, as well as many others, were influenced by this complete fabrication?