Obama expels 35 Russian diplomats, accuses Russia of meddling in election

[webfact]

Obama expels 35 Russian diplomats, accuses Russia of meddling in election

 

 

WASHINGTON: -- The United States on Thursday fired back at Moscow over its meddling in the presidential election, announcing a series of tough sanctions against intelligence agencies, expulsions of agents and shutting down of Russian compounds on US soil.

 

US President Barack Obama had all but accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of personally ordering an audacious cyber hack that many Democrats believe damaged Hillary Clinton’s chances in November’s closely fought election with Republican foe Donald Trump.

 

The US intelligence community has concluded that a hack-and-release of Democratic Party and Clinton staff emails was designed to put Trump — a political neophyte who has praised Putin — into the Oval Office.

 

The measures are certain to send tensions with Moscow soaring just three weeks before Trump succeeds Obama.

 

“I have ordered a number of actions in response to the Russian government’s aggressive harassment of US officials and cyber operations aimed at the US election,” Obama said.

 

“These actions follow repeated private and public warnings that we have issued to the Russian government, and are a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm US interests in violation of established international norms of behavior.”

 

Among the measures announced were sanctions against Russia’s FSB and GRU intelligence agencies, the designation of 35 Russian operatives as “persona non grata” and the closure of two Russian compounds in New York and Maryland that the United States says are used “for intelligence-related purposes.”

 

“All Americans should be alarmed by Russia’s actions,” Obama said.

 

“Moreover, our diplomats have experienced an unacceptable level of harassment in Moscow by Russian security services and police over the last year.

 

“Such activities have consequences.”

 

FSB, GRU targeted

 

Washington accuses the Russian military’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of hacking information with the intent to interfere with the US election — and says the Federal Security Service (FSB) has helped.

 

It will face sanctions, along with four individual GRU officers including agency chief Igor Valentinovich Korobov and three other entities.

 

In addition, the US Treasury slapped sanctions on two individuals, Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev and Aleksey Alekseyevich Belan, for “involvement in malicious cyber-enabled activities.”

 

The sanctions freeze any assets they may have in the United States and blocks US businesses from doing business with them.

 

A total of 35 Russian intelligence operatives based at the Russian embassy in Washington and the consulate in San Francisco have been declared “persona non grata” and ordered to leave the country within 72 hours.

 

The US government is also declassifying technical information on Russian cyber activity to help companies defend against future attacks.

 

“These actions are not the sum total of our response to Russia’s aggressive activities. We will continue to take a variety of actions at a time and place of our choosing, some of which will not be publicized,” Obama said.

 

“The United States and friends and allies around the world must work together to oppose Russia’s efforts to undermine established international norms of behavior, and interfere with democratic governance.”

 

Prior to November’s election, the Obama administration warned Russia via diplomatic channels to stop its cyber meddling, according to The Washington Post. Obama also spoke with Putin at a G20 summit in China earlier this year.

 

And about a week before the election, Washington sent a message to Moscow using a special crisis communication channel for the first time, asking it to stop targeting state voter registration and election systems.

 

Moscow apparently complied, according to US officials.

 

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has been quoted as saying that Moscow will respond to any “hostile steps” from Washington.

 

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-12-30

[canuckamuck]

Yes, showing the Americans what Hillary was up to definitely hurt her chances. How dare those Russians expose the truth.

And how dare any nation other than America meddle in other countries elections.

[craigt3365]

30 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

Yes, showing the Americans what Hillary was up to definitely hurt her chances. How dare those Russians expose the truth.

And how dare any nation other than America meddle in other countries elections.

So you are saying it'd be OK for Russia to hack your government's computer systems and expose misdeeds?  With zero regard as to the consequences or the data exposed?  Or many hack into other systems?

 

When did the US hack into other country's political parties email servers and publish that data on the internet?

 

Agreed that some interesting info was exposed, but this isn't the way to go.  Where do you stop?  It's a slippery slope.  And it's not just about the election system hack, though this is the driving force.  Russia has hacked into many different systems in the US over the years.  Time to fight back.

 

Good job.  One day, these hacks could have an impact on you.  And guaranteed, they already are.  Increasing company's security costs, which is passed along to you.

 

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/05/an-inside-look-at-whats-driving-the-hacking-economy.html

 

Quote

 

Crimes in cyberspace will cost the global economy $445 billion in 2016 — more than the market cap of Microsoft ($411 billion), Facebook ($314 billion) or ExxonMobil ($332 billion) — according to an estimate from the World Economic Forum's 2016 Global Risks Report.

 

The threat of state-sponsored attacks aimed at taking down critical infrastructure continues to plague experts, but many believe the bigger threat is posed toward U.S. business interests.

 

 

http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/hacking/criminal-hacking-groups-in-russia-are-becoming-more-like-sophisticated-corporations/news-story/4ce33b50da25041d1b3f4b30af2addbe

 

Quote

A GROUP of about 20 Russian hackers has fleeced over $1 billion from global bank accounts in the past three years, according to a new report.

 

 

[Jeffrey346]

This is about hacking. Not about Hillary or the election results..  Obama did the right thing and hopefully Trump will support the Obama's actions....

[boomerangutang]

58 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

Yes, showing the Americans what Hillary was up to definitely hurt her chances. How dare those Russians expose the truth.

And how dare any nation other than America meddle in other countries elections.

 

       Russians also hacked Republican political computers.  Yet, because the Russkies wanted Trump to win, they only released data on the Dems, not data from Reps.  In sum:  Russian state operatives tangibly helped Trump win.  Obviously, Trump doesn't like that news, so he's doing all he can to downplay it.  What other CIA findings will Trump downplay in his incessantly subjective skewing of intelligence reports?    

 

        I intensely dislike Trump for many reasons, but can he at least read and acknowledge findings sent to him by the CIA and other intelligence agencies?   US taxpayers pay a lot of money for the CIA.  They may make mistakes sometimes (like WMD in Iraq) ......but most of the time, they get it right, like in the 1960's when they notified then president Kennedy of Soviet Nuke missiles getting clandestinely stationed in Cuba.  If Trump had been president then, he would have said something like, "No. I like Kruschev. He says nice things about me.  He wouldn't be putting nukes in Cuba.  It's not true."

 

       As for Obama's latest retaliations against the Russkies:  I'm fully behind what he's doing.   He'll go down as being one of the best US presidents.

 

 

[Caps]

The US can not moan about anyone hacking them, yes is not good but when the boot is on the other foot

No point in moaning about things you do yourself.

NSA Hack Google

NSA hack Merkels phone 

To name but a few

 

Get over it 

[Jeffrey346]

7 minutes ago, Caps said:

The US can not moan about anyone hacking them, yes is not good but when the boot is on the other foot

No point in moaning about things you do yourself.

NSA Hack Google

NSA hack Merkels phone 

To name but a few

 

Get over it 

What a bunch of crap..  This is about one country hacking another. 

[Caps]

Just now, Jeffrey346 said:

What a bunch of crap..  This is about one country hacking another. 

 

Does not matter what it is, Hacking someone/thing is Hacking

 

Unless you think that the US is that special it can hack who it wants

 

As I said, Get over it 

[daveAustin]

14 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

He'll go down as being one of the best US presidents.

 

 Compared with the competition of recent times, you could put a deaf, dumb and blind turkey in The House and it could be classed as best, too! 

[maewang99]

I love it.  also "I could have won a 3rd term".

expertly done.... with class.

 


 

Edited December 30, 2016 by maewang99

[Jeffrey346]

8 minutes ago, Caps said:

 

Does not matter what it is, Hacking someone/thing is Hacking

 

Unless you think that the US is that special it can hack who it wants

 

As I said, Get over it 

I guess you believe everything you read. Why would the NSA hack Google? The NSA already has "front-door" access to Google and Yahoo user accounts through a court-approved programme known as Prism.

 

Get over it!!!

[craigt3365]

14 minutes ago, Caps said:

 

Does not matter what it is, Hacking someone/thing is Hacking

 

Unless you think that the US is that special it can hack who it wants

 

As I said, Get over it 

If your country's computers were hacked, data made public, and potentially impacted your election process, would you just say "get over it"?  I doubt it.

[MaksimMislavsky]

So, Russia CAN meddle in election in the USA? That's quite an achievement. Sweet....

[Caps]

12 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

If your country's computers were hacked, data made public, and potentially impacted your election process, would you just say "get over it"?  I doubt it.

Yes I agree it would not be very good.  But if it happened and we had been doing it to them then so be it

If you hack others then you can expect to get hacked yourself.  It does not matter what type of hacking has been done.  Hacking is hacking.  But there is so much moaning about the US allegedly being hacked by the Russians and its like  Why did the Russians hack us?  We don't hack anyone one!  We wouldn't do that!"

When the whole world knows different 

Edited December 30, 2016 by Caps

[Honthy]

The whole thing is a big lie. Who is hacking who? Has an election been clean in this history? There are interests and the interests are usually leaning against each other. Every government has its hacking arsenal. I wonder if Obama would not know this? And his election? Politic was originally interested in the common interests of the people. Now it has been degraded to an immoral battlefield of less.

In the Greek democracy polistottes was a Greek who was interested in the matters of his town, while those who weren't were called to idiotes.  Now, who are interested in the politic may be called to followers or even careerists and those who can see behind the curtains are called to wise man. Sad...

[Ulysses G.]

Lucky for the Russians, Washington is a sanctuary city. Obama would not be hypocritical enough to bust them there.

[craigt3365]

5 minutes ago, Caps said:

Yes I agree it would not be very good.  But if it happened and we had been doing it to them then so be it

If you hack others then you can expect to get hacked yourself.  It does not matter what type of hacking has been done.  Hacking is hacking.  But there is so much moaning about the US allegedly being hacked by the Russians and its like  Why did the Russians hack us?  We don't hack anyone one!  We wouldn't do that!"

When the whole world knows different 

When did the US hack Russia's political party's email server and put the data up on the internet?  I've not read about that one. LOL

 

Perhaps the rules have changed.  And your right, I'm sure the US has hacked their systems.  Let's make all that data public!  I'm sure a few oligarch's might be concerned when their financial details are exposed. LOL

[craigt3365]

7 minutes ago, Honthy said:

The whole thing is a big lie. Who is hacking who? Has an election been clean in this history? There are interests and the interests are usually leaning against each other. Every government has its hacking arsenal. I wonder if Obama would not know this? And his election? Politic was originally interested in the common interests of the people. Now it has been degraded to an immoral battlefield of less.

In the Greek democracy polistottes was a Greek who was interested in the matters of his town, while those who weren't were called to idiotes.  Now, who are interested in the politic may be called to followers or even careerists and those who can see behind the curtains are called to wise man. Sad...

Guaranteed Obama knows more about this than you or I.  It it was a lie, He wouldn't have taken such extreme actions.  Do some research, plenty of info out there to get educated on what happened.

[Caps]

4 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

When did the US hack Russia's political party's email server and put the data up on the internet?  I've not read about that one. LOL

 

Perhaps the rules have changed.  And your right, I'm sure the US has hacked their systems.  Let's make all that data public!  I'm sure a few oligarch's might be concerned when their financial details are exposed. LOL

I have never stated that the US has hacked the Russian Political Party and put the info on the net!  

What I have said is Hacking is Hacking.  

[simple1]

9 minutes ago, Ulysses G. said:

Lucky for the Russians, Washington is a sanctuary city. Obama would not be hypocritical enough to bust them there.

 

From the OP...

 

"A total of 35 Russian intelligence operatives based at the Russian embassy in Washington and the consulate in San Francisco have been declared “persona non grata” and ordered to leave the country within 72 hours."

 

What has been overlooked by many responding to the OP is US diplomats have been harassed extensively during the past year in Moscow The removal orders are not just related to the hacking incidents, but also a considered foreign relations response to abuse of diplomatic staff in Russia.

[Honthy]

24 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Guaranteed Obama knows more about this than you or I.  It it was a lie, He wouldn't have taken such extreme actions.  Do some research, plenty of info out there to get educated on what happened.

 

 

Thanks, I made it already and fed enough. I have a strong feeling that no clear election is possible. It includes that no parties use legal gears only, but ready to implement illegal, immoral devices without any hesitation. One of them will win. Like in a bad table game. 

Otherwise Obama and his actions, worth not a word.

Edited December 30, 2016 by Honthy

[craigt3365]

36 minutes ago, Caps said:

I have never stated that the US has hacked the Russian Political Party and put the info on the net!  

What I have said is Hacking is Hacking.  

Clearly, hacking is not hacking.  It's a crime with many different aspects to it.  But it's still a crime.

[craigt3365]

33 minutes ago, simple1 said:

 

From the OP...

 

"A total of 35 Russian intelligence operatives based at the Russian embassy in Washington and the consulate in San Francisco have been declared “persona non grata” and ordered to leave the country within 72 hours."

 

What has been overlooked by many responding to the OP is US diplomats have been harassed extensively during the past year in Moscow The removal orders are not just related to the hacking incidents, but also a considered foreign relations response to abuse of diplomatic staff in Russia.

Excellent point.  Time to fight back.  Take off the gloves.  Sadly, this type of stuff doesn't seem to bother Trump.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/russia-is-harassing-us-diplomats-all-over-europe/2016/06/26/968d1a5a-3bdf-11e6-84e8-1580c7db5275_story.html?utm_term=.8cc6dc17f704

Quote

Russian intelligence and security services have been waging a campaign of harassment and intimidation against U.S. diplomats, embassy staff and their families in Moscow and several other European capitals that has rattled ambassadors and prompted Secretary of State John F. Kerry to ask Vladimir Putin to put a stop to it.

 

[soalbundy]

next week, Russia expels 35 American diplomats

[maoro2013]

Do you think the Russians will respond in kind, I think they should do.

[Ulysses G.]

1 minute ago, maoro2013 said:

Do you think the Russians will respond in kind, I think they should do.

 

Most likely, but it is all about Obama's saving face. Too late for that.

[lostlink]

1 hour ago, boomerangutang said:

 

       Russians also hacked Republican political computers.  Yet, because the Russkies wanted Trump to win, they only released data on the Dems, not data from Reps.  In sum:  Russian state operatives tangibly helped Trump win.  Obviously, Trump doesn't like that news, so he's doing all he can to downplay it.  What other CIA findings will Trump downplay in his incessantly subjective skewing of intelligence reports?    

 

  

 

 

 

That was a fake news report.  After there was leakage from the DNC the RNC had their system looked at by the FBI. The FBI found that attempts were made to hack into the RNC and NONE were successful.

[Dustdevil]

God,  what a lot of halfwits here. All nations with the capability spy on each other, including allies. Didn't you know that? Read a book or something, for God's sake. Julian Assange and Snowden are Russian agents, all part of the game. But Russia went too far. They wanted Trump in simply because they know a moron like that is really bad for his country. But the U.S. should not let a country with an economy the size of Italy's (look it up) push it around anymore. Russia is nothing but a petrol station for Europe with an Italy-sized economy.

[Andaman Al]

1 hour ago, Ulysses G. said:

Lucky for the Russians, Washington is a sanctuary city. Obama would not be hypocritical enough to bust them there.

 

Lucky for the Russians? In 1960's and 70's America you would be in jail with comments like that after such an international crime. Just whose side are you on Ulysses? I think we should be told!

[Ulysses G.]

No sanctuary cities back then. Blame the left.