Thursday Open Thread | Russian Cyber Hacks on U.S. Electoral System Far Wider Than Previously Known

Posted on June 15, 2017 by rikyrah

From Bloomberg:

Russian Cyber Hacks on U.S. Electoral System Far Wider Than Previously Known
by Michael Riley
and Jordan Robertson
June 13, 2017, 4:00 AM CDT

Russia’s cyberattack on the U.S. electoral system before Donald Trump’s election was far more widespread than has been publicly revealed, including incursions into voter databases and software systems in almost twice as many states as previously reported.

In Illinois, investigators found evidence that cyber intruders tried to delete or alter voter data. The hackers accessed software designed to be used by poll workers on Election Day, and in at least one state accessed a campaign finance database. Details of the wave of attacks, in the summer and fall of 2016, were provided by three people with direct knowledge of the U.S. investigation into the matter. In all, the Russian hackers hit systems in a total of 39 states, one of them said

The scope and sophistication so concerned Obama administration officials that they took an unprecedented step — complaining directly to Moscow over a modern-day “red phone.” In October, two of the people said, the White House contacted the Kremlin on the back channel to offer detailed documents of what it said was Russia’s role in election meddling and to warn that the attacks risked setting off a broader conflict.

The new details, buttressed by a classified National Security Agency document recently disclosed by the Intercept, show the scope of alleged hacking that federal investigators are scrutinizing as they look into whether Trump campaign officials may have colluded in the efforts. But they also paint a worrisome picture for future elections: The newest portrayal of potentially deep vulnerabilities in the U.S.’s patchwork of voting technologies comes less than a week after former FBI Director James Comey warned Congress that Moscow isn’t done meddling.

“They’re coming after America,” Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee investigating Russian interference in the election. “They will be back.”

………………………

One of the mysteries about the 2016 presidential election is why Russian intelligence, after gaining access to state and local systems, didn’t try to disrupt the vote. One possibility is that the American warning was effective. Another former senior U.S. official, who asked for anonymity to discuss the classified U.S. probe into pre-election hacking, said a more likely explanation is that several months of hacking failed to give the attackers the access they needed to master America’s disparate voting systems spread across more than 7,000 local jurisdictions.

Such operations need not change votes to be effective. In fact, the Obama administration believed that the Russians were possibly preparing to delete voter registration information or slow vote tallying in order to undermine confidence in the election. That effort went far beyond the carefully timed release of private communications by individuals and parties.

One former senior U.S. official expressed concern that the Russians now have three years to build on their knowledge of U.S. voting systems before the next presidential election, and there is every reason to believe they will use what they have learned in future attacks.

 

Read the article. At every turn, there was the GOP with obstruction. They wouldn’t go along with the President, the Head of Homeland Security. How many ways do we have to see before they are called what they are- TRAITORS TO THE COUNTRY. It’s so obvious.

Kyle Griffin‏Verified account @kylegriffin1

FLAG: Sessions says he has *never* received a detailed briefing on Russian election interference, *never* sought out a briefing.

…………………………

Jamil Smith‏Verified account @JamilSmith 8h8 hours ago

A normal @POTUS would be taking steps to prevent a similar attack on our elections. Trump isn’t even upset that it happened, folks.
11 replies 193 retweets 348 likes

Jamil Smith‏Verified account @JamilSmith

Limiting voting rights is Republican boilerplate. But their disinterest in preventing another election hack is collusion of another sort.

This entry was posted in 2016 Elections, Obstruction of Justice, Open Thread, Politics and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

94 Responses to Thursday Open Thread | Russian Cyber Hacks on U.S. Electoral System Far Wider Than Previously Known

  6. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 8:36 pm

    Special Counsel is investigating Kushner’s business dealings – says WaPo

    Reply
  8. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 8:31 pm

    Pence hired not only a lawyer, but a top shelf problem solver. Once again, for the bleacher seats…

    If you are a White House staffer, and not Reince Prebus (who I just know had one pretty much from day one)…

    This is the sign..

    LAWYER UP

    Reply
  9. Liza says:
    June 15, 2017 at 7:21 pm

    Attack Tests Movement Sanders Founded
    By YAMICHE ALCINDORJUNE 14, 2017

    WASHINGTON — The most ardent supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders have long been outspoken about their anger toward Republicans — and in some cases toward Democrats. Their idol, the senator from Vermont, has called President Trump a “demagogue” and said recently that he was “perhaps the worst and most dangerous president in the history of our country.”

    Now, in Mr. Sanders’s world, his fans have something concrete to grapple with: James T. Hodgkinson, a former volunteer for Mr. Sanders’s presidential campaign, is suspected of opening fire on Republican lawmakers practicing baseball in Alexandria, Va.

    That shooting on Wednesday, which wounded four people, may prove to be an unexpected test for a movement born out of Mr. Sanders’s left-wing, populist politics and a moment for liberals to figure out how to balance anger at Mr. Trump with inciting violence.
    …
    “I am sickened by this despicable act,” Mr. Sanders said in a statement. “Let me be as clear as I can be. Violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society, and I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms. Real change can only come about through nonviolent action, and anything else runs against our most deeply held American values.”

    His most prominent followers said that blaming all of Mr. Sanders’s supporters for the actions of one was akin to blaming all Muslims for the actions of the Islamic State.

    “It doesn’t make sense to me, not with this shooting and not with blaming an entire Black Lives Matter movement when a random black man shoots a police officer,” said Shaun King, a columnist for The New York Daily News who campaigned for Mr. Sanders.

    He added that violence would not help move liberal policies forward: “If 20 Republican congressmen were shot and killed, it would not improve the chances of us having a better health care system. It’s nonsensical.”

    To be sure, supporters of Mr. Trump, as well as Mr. Trump himself, have assailed opponents and the news media.

    But long before the shooting on Wednesday, some of Mr. Sanders’s supporters had earned a belligerent reputation for their criticism of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party and others who they believed disagreed with their ideas. Sanders fans, sometimes referred to derogatorily as “Bernie Bros” or “Bernie Bots,” at times harassed reporters covering Mr. Sanders and flooded social media with angry posts directed at the “corporate media,” a term often used by the senator.

    The suspect in the shooting in Virginia put a new spotlight on the rage buried in some corners of the progressive left.
    …
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/14/us/politics/bernie-sanders-supporters.html?mwrsm=Facebook&_r=0

    Reply
    • Liza says:
      June 15, 2017 at 7:23 pm

      We really shouldn’t allow this rhetoric.

      For starters, there’s THIS:

      POLITICS 06/14/2017 02:12 pm ET | Updated 19 hours ago
      After 152 Mass Shootings In 2017, It Took An Attack On Congress To Get Our Attention
      Mass shootings in 2017 are outpacing those in previous years.
      By Nick Wing

      Apart from the setting ― a tony neighborhood in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C.― and the high-profile targets, the episode was sadly not all that remarkable. It was the 153rd mass shooting of the year, in just 165 days, according to a tally by the Gun Violence Archive, a not-for-profit organization that tracks shootings across the country. Hours later, the 154th appeared to be unfolding in San Francisco.

      Mass shootings have only rarely made national headlines in 2017, but they are so far outpacing the rate seen in recent years.

      Read…
      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/congress-mass-shooting_us_59414b06e4b003d5948c8364

      Reply
    • Liza says:
      June 15, 2017 at 7:26 pm

      We’re 5.5 months into 2017 and we have 154 shooters. But the GOP trash talkers choose to focus on the one guy who shot at them and, interestingly enough, blame it on the left because the shooter supported Bernie Sanders in 2016.

      Let us pause and take note of which side of the political spectrum actually tried to do something about these shootings:

      Reply
    • Liza says:
      June 15, 2017 at 7:32 pm

      Maybe the shooter had other problems…

      “Online court records suggest Hodgkinson had a history of violence. He was arrested in 2006 on suspicion of battery with intent to cause bodily harm. He was also charged with domestic battery, criminal damage of property and reckless discharge of a firearm.

      According to a 2006 complaint filed with the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department and based on statements from Hodgkinson’s neighbors, he and his wife Suzanne became violent when their daughter, who was visiting a neighboring residence, refused to come home.

      Among other things, the complaint accuses Hodgkinson of choking his daughter and grabbing her by the hair. The complaint also states that Hodgkinson punched a woman in the residence with a closed fist after she threatened to call the police. That woman’s boyfriend told authorities that when he went to Hodgkinson’s home to confront him, Hodgkinson aimed a shotgun in his face, hit him over the head with the stock and fired a round in his direction.”

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/james-hodgkinson-history_us_59414028e4b003d5948c6f50?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

      Reply
    • Liza says:
      June 15, 2017 at 7:39 pm

      Yet, this absolutely ludicrous rhetoric is trying to grow legs. And I have to say that seeing this in the NYT is very disappointing.

      There are GOP politicians trying to make hay of this. Here’s what Rep Martha McSally (who has been blathering this rhetoric on both CNN and MSBNC) posted on Facebook today:

      Rep. Martha McSally
      8 hrs ·
      “The rhetoric, the vitriol, the demonizing, the hatred—we have to change the way we interact. We need to be able to debate sincerely held beliefs but not be disagreeable to each other. All of us–our community, our public officials, our country–need to look in our hearts so that this unity is not for just one day, but is a true change in our nation.”

      Reply
    • Liza says:
      June 15, 2017 at 7:43 pm

      Unity, y’all. They want unity. What kind of unity? Support for the GOP occupier in the Oval Office? This guy?

      Reply
    • Liza says:
      June 15, 2017 at 7:45 pm

      We need to send a message loud and clear to the GOP and their alternative universe:

      “IF YOU DO NOT OWN THE MORAL HIGH GROUND, DO NOT TRY TO DRIVE A STAKE INTO IT”.

      Rant over. Had to get that out.

      Reply
    • Liza says:
      June 15, 2017 at 7:54 pm

      And, to be sure, this is also the GOP hoping to capitalize on divisions within the left.

      Do not fall for the okie dokie as Eliihass says.

      Reply
    • Liza says:
      June 15, 2017 at 8:08 pm

      Nancy Pelosi just went off on Republicans attacking Democrats over the Scalise shooting
      By Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large
      Updated 5:37 PM ET, Thu June 15

      Following a moving speech by Speaker Paul Ryan in the wake of the shootings at a baseball diamond that left Rep. Steve Scalise in critical condition on Wednesday morning, you might be forgiven for wondering whether the nastiness of our politics could actually change — at least for a short time.
      …
      And now, less than 36 hours removed from the shots ringing out in Alexandria, Virginia, we are already into the condemnation stage of our all-too-predictable political process.

      Pelosi was asked Thursday about “the possibility that this incident could be used against Democrats or the Democratic Party politically” because some conservatives had suggested “vitriolic rhetoric from the left being in some way to blame.”

      Here’s how she responded:

      “I think that the comments made by my Republican colleagues are outrageous, beneath the dignity of the job that they hold, beneath the dignity of the respect that we would like Congress to command. How dare they say such thing? How dare they? Well I won’t even go into the whole thing. I can’t even begin, probably as we sit here, they’re running caricatures of me in Georgia once again, earned over a hundred million dollars of vitriolic things that they say, that resulted in calls to my home constantly, threats in front of my grandchildren. Really, predicated on their comments and their paid ads. So this sick individual does something despicable and it was horrible what he did, hateful. But for them to all of a sudden be sanctimonious as if, they don’t, never seen such a thing before. And I don’t even want to go into the President of the United States. But in terms of some of the language that he has used.”

      http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/15/politics/nancy-pelosi-steve-scalise/index.html

      Reply
  10. Liza says:
    June 15, 2017 at 5:48 pm

    Terence Crutcher's estate files civil rights case against Officer Betty Shelby, city of Tulsa: https://t.co/ZUe8egQMeA pic.twitter.com/exphd0xdKk— Tulsa World (@tulsaworld) June 15, 2017

    //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    Reply
  12. SouthernGirl2 says:
    June 15, 2017 at 4:29 pm

    The bullet train is heading down the tracks…..

    https://twitter.com/thehill/status/875462478355996674

    Reply
  13. Ametia says:
    June 15, 2017 at 4:18 pm

    Pence hires outside counsel to deal with Russia probe inquiries

    Vice President Mike Pence has hired outside legal counsel to help with both congressional committee inquiries and the special counsel investigation into possible collusion between President Trump’s campaign and Russia.

    The vice president’s office said Thursday that Pence has retained Richard Cullen, a Richmond-based attorney and chairman of McGuire Woods who previously served as a U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia.

    Pence’s decision comes less than a month after Trump hired his own private attorney, Marc E. Kasowitz, to help navigate the investigations related to the Russia probe, and a day after the Washington Post reported that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is now widening his investigation to examine whether the president attempted to obstruct justice.

    “I can confirm that the Vice President has retained Richard Cullen of McGuire Woods to assist him in responding to inquiries by the special counsel,” said Jarrod Agen, a Pence spokesman, in an email statement. “The Vice President is focused entirely on his duties and promoting the President’s agenda and

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pence-hires-outside-counsel-to-deal-with-russia-probe-inquiries/2017/06/15/c40ef55c-51f5-11e7-a973-3dae94ed3eb7_story.html?utm_term=.2ab7bf3ff027

    Reply
  15. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 2:14 pm

    Trump’s indifference to Russia’s election attack raises alarm
    06/15/17 12:43 PM
    By Steve Benen

    In the current political climate, it’s rare to see any policy measure receive broad bipartisan support; the parties are simply too far apart on practically every issue. Yesterday, however, offered an exception.

    The Senate voted 97 to 2 in support of legislation imposing new economic sanctions on Russia in response to Moscow’s intervention in the American presidential election. The same measure, which now heads to the House, would block the White House from acting unilaterally on easing sanctions against Moscow – a move Donald Trump has reportedly considered more than once.

    For many Senate Republicans, this was literally the first time in 2017 in which they voted against Trump’s preference.

    There are a variety of interesting questions surrounding the bill – most notably, no one knows if the president would veto it – but let’s not miss the forest for the trees. The fact that the chamber took this action at all demonstrated something important: nearly every member of the Senate cares that a foreign adversary attacked our democracy, and they’re taking steps to do something about it.

    Donald Trump, meanwhile, seems indifferent, if not outwardly hostile, to the core details – which is difficult to accept at face value, and even harder to defend.

    Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, talked to CNN on Tuesday and expressed his frustration about Trump’s and his administration’s indifference. His comments were quite candid:

    “The other question [Attorney General Jeff Session] didn’t answer – I’ve got to say, it really, really disturbed me – and that is, ‘Have you looked into what the Russians did? Have you asked for any briefings? Do you understand the magnitude of what was done to us?’ And the answer was no.

    “And Jim Comey essentially said the same thing last week about the president. He had nine interactions with the president. The president never asked, ‘What did the Russians do? How did they do it? How do you know they did it?’ […]

    “[T]his is the most serious attack on our country since September 11. An adversary is aiming an arrow at the heart of our democracy. And these folks are just shrugging it off and saying, you know, ‘Let’s move on and talk about other issues.’ I understand their defensiveness on whether they were involved in it or not, but the fundamental story of what the Russians did – and that they’re still at it and will continue to be at it – is just being ignored, and it really bothers me when the Commander in Chief takes that position.”

    Reply
  16. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 1:48 pm

    Ben Jacobs‏Verified account
    Lobbyist for Russian interests says he attended dinners hosted by Sessions

    Reply
  20. Ametia says:
    June 15, 2017 at 11:32 am

    KARMA IS COLLECTING WHAT’S DUE HER, BIGTIME, ON ALL FRONTS.

    You can’t PLAY and not expect to PAY.

    Reply
  21. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 11:30 am

    Found at BJ for those of us with DEM Senators:

    low-tech cyclist says:
    June 15, 2017 at 12:00 pm

    I’m gonna say it again: while we should thank our Dem Senators for their commitment to vote against the Senate bill, we should be asking more of them than just that.

    The Senate runs on unanimous consent. The Dems should withhold consent until either the Senate bill is published well in advance of a vote, or until hearings take place on the bill in advance of a vote.

    Right now, the health care bill is completely absent from the newspaper headlines, and is equally absent from other major media. GOP Senators aren’t going to hear much from their constituents about a bill that isn’t in the news. It’s the Dems’ job to get it into the news. Withholding unanimous consent is one thing they can do. Will any of them do it?

    I have called my Senators to make this ask. I urge the rest of you with Dem Senators do the same.

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      June 15, 2017 at 11:34 am

      Thanks for this, Rikyrah. Dems all over TV yesterday praying & talkin baseball.

      They literally aren’t going to do shit, unless we start a fire and turn up the heat on their AZZES

      Reply
  22. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 11:27 am

    WHAT DO YOU WANT?

    no bill that leads to coverage losses.

    ……………………………………………………………

    When you call a Senate office, ask to speak to the relevant Health Legislative Assistant. Hey look, a list of staffer names! 18/ pic.twitter.com/UQ0yZNaSxc

    — Ben Wikler (@benwikler) June 8, 2017

    Reply
  28. SouthernGirl2 says:
    June 15, 2017 at 10:38 am

    Breaking News: Jury deadlocked in Cosby trial.

    Reply
  29. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 10:30 am

    Philip Rucker @PhilipRucker
    A source sent me RNC/Trump talking points for Repubs seeking to discredit tonight’s WaPo scoop on Mueller investigating Trump obstruction —>
    (Photo of the Repub talking points https://mobile.twitter.com/PhilipRucker/status/875166972614516737@<a )

    Reply
  33. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 9:48 am

    GARRETT M. GRAFF
    06.14.1708:05 AM
    ROBERT MUELLER CHOOSES HIS INVESTIGATORY DREAM TEAM

    ……………………..

    Meet Mueller’s Roster

    As Mueller begins investigating Russia’s interference in last year’s election and its possible links to Donald Trump’s campaign, he is quietly recruiting lawyers and staff to the team. And in recent days, Trump associates have stepped up criticism of Mueller and his team—including a report, quickly rejected by the White House, that Trump is considering firing Mueller before he even gets started.
    Tuesday morning on Good Morning America, Newt Gingrich blasted Mueller and his still-forming team. “These are bad people,” Newt Gingrich told George Stephanopoulos. “I’m very dubious of the team.”

    But that criticism flies in the face of widespread, bipartisan acclaim for the team. In fact, just a day earlier, on the same program, former Whitewater prosecutor Ken Starr praised Mueller at length. “I don’t think there’s a legitimate concern about Bob Mueller,” Starr said, explaining that the former FBI director was “honest as the day is long.”

    From the list of hires, it’s clear, in fact, that Mueller is recruiting perhaps the most high-powered and experienced team of investigators ever assembled by the Justice Department. His team began with three lawyers who also quickly left WilmerHale, the law firm where Mueller has also worked since he left the FBI in 2013—Zebley, James Quarles III, and Jeannie Rhee.

    The rapid recruitment of Quarles attracted immediate attention: A famed litigator who was an assistant special prosecutor for the Watergate investigation, Quarles specialized in campaign finance research for the Watergate task force, which surely will be an area of focus for Mueller’s investigation. (The FBI has been serving subpoenas regarding the finances of campaign adviser Michael Flynn and campaign chairman Paul Manafort, both of whom have retroactively registered as foreign agents, admitting that they were paid by foreign governments during the period when they were also advising Trump.) In more recent years, Quarles has risen through the law firm’s ranks to run its DC office, and is an experienced manager. In granting him the firm’s top recognition in 2007, one of his colleagues said that Quarles “represents precisely the values that should define us culturally and reputationally: He is an excellent lawyer, he is an extraordinary hard worker, he is the ultimate team player, and he treats everyone with respect and collegiality.”
    It’s a team that’s not just a paper office tiger but one with deep experience investigating crime around the world.

    More recently, Mueller has recruited Andrew Weissmann, his one-time general counsel at the FBI and a long-time adviser who once led the Justice Department’s fraud unit. In the early 2000s, Weissmann also oversaw the Enron Task Force, the storied Justice Department unit that investigated the complex machinations of the failed energy giant. (The task force’s team of prosecutors was so well-respected that they went on to dominate the Justice Department’s top ranks for the better part of a decade, including former officials like White House homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco, White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler, assistant attorney general Leslie Caldwell, and acting assistant attorney general Matthew Friedrich.)

    Then Mueller added Michael Dreeben, who has worked for years in the Justice Department’s solicitor general’s office, which argues the government’s cases before the Supreme Court. “Dreeben is 1 of the top legal & appellate minds at DOJ in modern times,” tweeted Preet Bharara, the former top Manhattan federal prosecutor. Walter Dellinger, an accomplished law professor at Duke and former acting solicitor general, went one step further, telling The Washington Post, “Michael is the most brilliant and most knowledgeable federal criminal lawyer in America—period.” Writing on the Lawfare blog, Paul Rosenzweig recalled watching Deeban argue a Supreme Court case—one of more than a hundred he’s done—without a single note, and also concluded, “He is quite possibly the best criminal appellate lawyer in America (at least on the government’s side). That Mueller has sought his assistance attests both to the seriousness of his effort and the depth of the intellectual bench he is building.”

    Also, while the Special Counsel’s office has yet to make any formal announcements about Mueller’s team, it appears he has recruited an experienced Justice Department trial attorney, Lisa Page, a little-known figure outside the halls of Main Justice but one whose résumé boasts intriguing hints about where Mueller’s Russia investigation might lead. Page has deep experience with money laundering and organized crime cases, including investigations where she’s partnered with an FBI task force in Budapest, Hungary, that focuses on eastern European organized crime. That Budapest task force helped put together the still-unfolding money laundering case against Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash, a one-time business partner of Manafort.

    But despite the other more high-profile names, it’s the career of Zebley, a dogged FBI agent turned prosecutor turned confidant, that perhaps best points to how Mueller intends to run his new investigation: With absolute tenacity and strong central leadership from Mueller himself. It’s a team that’s not just a paper office tiger but one with deep experience investigating crime around the world.

    Reply
  35. yahtzeebutterfly says:
    June 15, 2017 at 9:43 am

    Important links in the article linked in this tweet:
    https://twitter.com/splcenter/status/875342014396682240

    Reply
  39. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 9:20 am

    In an FBI study of 160 active shooter incidents from 2000-2013, only ONE was stopped by an armed civilian bystander.https://t.co/5Uu5IF9vWA pic.twitter.com/GUdVlkiHHB

    — Caroline O. (@RVAwonk) June 14, 2017

    Reply
  40. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 9:18 am

    Future shock: In @QuinnipiacPoll Trump job approval 19 positive 74 negative w/NJ Millennials. In Gov race, Dem Murphy leads w/them 56-15.— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) June 15, 2017

    Reply
  42. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 9:00 am

    Maddow in Rolling Stone:

    Q: Let’s talk about the Russia story. You got on that very early, and stuck with it.

    A: Well, I mean, I’m not keeping it alive for its own sake. There’s a lot of scandal associated with this new administration. Some of it is like normal political scandal – like Tom Price trading health stocks while he was in a public position to regulate those stocks. That’s a bad scandal, but it’s kind of normal political corruption. It’s almost quaint. Then, there are Trump-specific scandals, like we now have a ruling family where there’s a crowned prince who’s an adviser without remit, and we’ve got unqualified nepotistic appointments and conflicts of interest and Trump not disclosing his taxes. And then there is this third scandal, which is about the existence of this presidency. That’s an existential scandal. If this presidency is knowingly the product of a foreign-intelligence operation, that’s not Tom Price trading stocks that he was also affecting the price of as a public official, you know? That is a full-stop national crisis. Does that mean Russia makes the air every day, even if nothing appears new? No. But when there is something to say about it, I’m going to report it insistently. And I’m willing to do that even if it bothers people.

    Reply
  43. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 8:59 am

    AHCA waivers could amount to a pre-existing condition exclusion for pregnancy, mental illness, and substance abuse.https://t.co/tusuBVZn9d pic.twitter.com/Zhvpueh64N
    — Larry Levitt (@larry_levitt) June 15, 2017

    Reply
  44. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 8:58 am

    NEW: Trumpcare will impose lifetime/annual limits on 20-27 million in employer plans nationwide. https://t.co/BjRJQk5oK8
    — Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) June 15, 2017

    Reply
  45. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 8:57 am

    THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 6/14/17
    Criminal investigation of Trump a turning point in Russia probe
    Ari Melber, MSNBC chief legal correspondent, talks with Rachel Maddow about the legal implications of the revelation that Donald Trump is being investigated for obstruction of justice for firing James Comey over the Russia investigation.

    Reply
  46. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 8:56 am

    THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 6/14/17
    Criminal charges filed in Flint water crisis
    Congressman Dan Kildee talks with Rachel Maddow about the shooting at a Republican congressional baseball practice and the criminal charges, including involuntary manslaughter, being filed by the Michigan attorney general against officials in the Flint water crisis.

    Reply
  47. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 8:55 am

    THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 6/14/17
    Special counsel investigating Trump for obstruction: WaPo
    Adam Entous, national security reporter for the Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow about breaking news that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Donald Trump for possible obstruction of justice in the firing of James Comey.

    Reply
  48. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 8:53 am

    Would Trump fire Special Counsel Mueller during the investigation?
    06/15/17 09:20 AM
    By Steve Benen

    Former FBI Director Bob Mueller is the Justice Department’s special counsel, overseeing the investigation into the expanding Russia scandal, which now reportedly includes allegations that Donald Trump obstructed justices. There’s no shortage of questions surrounding the controversy, but among them is what kind of job security Mueller currently enjoys.

    A Trump confidant this week said, for example, the president has “considered” firing Mueller. Christopher Ruddy, a longtime Trump ally, added, “I think he’s weighing that option.”

    The comments caused quite a stir, and it was soon bolstered by a report from the New York Times.

    Last month’s appointment of Robert S. Mueller III as a special counsel to investigate possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia enraged President Trump. Yet, at least initially, he holstered his Twitter finger and publicly said nothing.

    But behind the scenes, the president soon began entertaining the idea of firing Mr. Mueller even as his staff tried to discourage him from something they believed would turn a bad situation into a catastrophe…. For now, the staff has prevailed…. But people close to Mr. Trump say he is so volatile they cannot be sure that he will not change his mind about Mr. Mueller if he finds out anything to lead him to believe the investigation has been compromised.

    …………………………

    Possibility #1: Trump can’t go after Mueller now. Even if the president finds this confusing, someone from Trump World has probably told him that going after the special counsel, as some of his allies have recommended, would put his presidency in even more severe jeopardy. Nixon tried to pull this stunt at the height of Watergate with the “Saturday Night Massacre,” and if Trump did the same thing, this scandal would go nuclear. It’s not complicated: there’s little he could do to appear more guilty than firing the special counsel investigating him and his political operation.

    Possibility #2: Trump will be desperate to go after Mueller now. Look, the erratic president, unconcerned with limits and norms, has already fired the director of the FBI, dozens of federal prosecutors, and the acting U.S. attorney general. The special counsel’s investigation is getting progressively closer to the Oval Office, making Trump himself the subject of a probe the president apparently sees as illegitimate. If he’s been “entertaining the idea of firing Mr. Mueller,” it stands to reason that urge will be even stronger now, consequences be damned.

    Reply
  49. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 8:50 am

    The irony of the criminal investigation into Donald Trump
    06/15/17 08:00 AM—UPDATED 06/15/17 08:09 AM
    By Steve Benen

    Donald Trump has spent much of his presidency obsessing over whether he’s personally under investigation as part of the probe into his Russia scandal. Ironically, the president’s focus grew so intense, he may have taken actions that put him under investigation.

    Rachel noted on last night’s show the blockbuster new report from the Washington Post

    The special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election is interviewing senior intelligence officials as part of a widening probe that now includes an examination of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice, officials said.

    The move by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to investigate Trump’s conduct marks a major turning point in the nearly year-old FBI investigation, which until recently focused on Russian meddling during the presidential campaign and on whether there was any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Investigators have also been looking for any evidence of possible financial crimes among Trump associates, officials said.

    Reply
  50. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 8:45 am

    Trump warned of a ‘constitutional crisis’ if president faced an investigation
    06/15/17 08:43 AM
    By Steve Benen

    In June 2016, after the Democratic presidential primaries, Barack Obama officially threw his support behind Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump, borrowing a page from Fox News, pushed a very specific line: “Never before,” the Republican tweeted, “has a president endorsed someone under investigation” by the Justice Department.

    Because, obviously, if someone seeking the nation’s highest office is under investigation from the Justice Department, that’s inherently cause for alarm, right?

    In November 2016, less than a week before Election Day, Politico reported on Trump’s closing message:

    Trump predicted that Clinton’s election would bring “an unprecedented and protracted constitutional crisis” because of the looming investigation and suggested Americans would not want to endure a second Clinton administration marred by scandal.

    …………………

    t’s not just Trump and his team who should face the question. The week before Election Day, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told a group of voters, “Obviously, we all understand the importance of this presidential race. I would just ask everybody this: Can this country afford to have a president under investigation by the FBI? Think of the trauma that would do to this country.”

    Yes, think of it.

    The Huffington Post noted in March there were similar comments during last year’s campaign from prominent members of Team Trump, including Sean Spicer, Kellyanne Conway, and Reince Priebus.

    What do you suppose the odds are that Trump World has changed its mind?

    Reply
  51. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 8:44 am

    New Analysis Finds Uninsured Rate for Kids Would Increase by 50% Under AHCA https://t.co/Ffjw7Eg6Ob
    — Georgetown CCF (@GeorgetownCCF) June 14, 2017

    Reply
  52. Lonnie Starr says:
    June 15, 2017 at 6:07 am

    The real question is, why was the shift to electronic voting allowed knowing all this? Shouldn’t U.S. voting authorities have been notified of the risks that electronic voting exposed the system to, most especially when and where there would be no paper ballots to count and/or verify? Why was such a critical system left at such terrible risk?

    I’m pretty sure that if you can detect hacking, you can often detect who the hacking was in favor of. That information is of supreme interest eh? Because of the huge efforts that were made to keep certain voters away from the polls and the nationwide gerrymander that was a plank in Tom DeLay’s “permanent republican majority” plans, funded by the infamous Jack Abramoff’s Indian Tribe gambling rip offs. Who could forget Gus Boulis being shot to death and how “Casino Jack” took over his SunCruse Gambling ships, where 100 K was wire transferred to Mohammad Atta so he could play 900 dollar a spin roulette. Of course, if you don’t know about such things it’s no wonder, the MSM didn’t dwell on the stories. You’ll have to google for it, but it makes a very good and informative read. Here’s a few search terms for y’all:
    Gus Boulis/ murdered
    Jack Abramoff
    Tom DeLay
    Permanent Republican Marjority
    Tom DeLay at St. Andrews

    As you read you’ll also come across more that you should know about, so collect more search terms and keep going.

    Reply
  54. rikyrah says:
    June 15, 2017 at 2:49 am

    Good Morning Everyone 😐😐 😐

    Reply

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