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Mrs. Overall

(6,839 posts)
Thu Dec 20, 2018, 02:10 PM Dec 2018

Russian Agents Sought Secret US Treasury Records On Clinton Backers During 2016 Campaign

Source: BuzzFeed

US Treasury Department officials used a Gmail back channel with the Russian government as the Kremlin sought sensitive financial information on its enemies in America and across the globe, according to documents reviewed by BuzzFeed News.

The extraordinary unofficial line of communication arose in the final year of the Obama administration — in the midst of what multiple US intelligence agencies have said was a secret campaign by the Kremlin to interfere in the US election. Russian agents ostensibly trying to track ISIS instead pressed their American counterparts for private financial documents on at least two dozen dissidents, academics, private investigators, and American citizens.

Most startlingly, Russia requested sensitive documents on Dirk, Edward, and Daniel Ziff, billionaire investors who had run afoul of the Kremlin. That request was made weeks before a Russian lawyer showed up at Trump Tower offering top campaign aides “dirt” on Hillary Clinton — including her supposed connection to the Ziff brothers.

Russia’s financial crimes agency, whose second-in-command is a former KGB officer and schoolmate of President Vladimir Putin, also asked the Americans for documents on executives from two prominent Jewish groups, the Anti-Defamation League and the National Council of Jewish Women, as well as Kremlin opponents living abroad in London and Kiev.

Read more: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/anthonycormier/russian-agents-sought-us-treasury-records-on-clinton-backers

18 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Russian Agents Sought Secret US Treasury Records On Clinton Backers During 2016 Campaign (Original Post) Mrs. Overall Dec 2018 OP
Very disconcerting UpInArms Dec 2018 #1
Make that two giant WTFs !!! ananda Dec 2018 #5
Looks like Mueller and Schiff need to look into this. LiberalFighter Dec 2018 #6
Who are these treasure department officials. I have a feeling they are conservatives. lancelyons Dec 2018 #2
No question what they did was illegal. sdfernando Dec 2018 #7
OMFG how many traitors were involved in this conspiracy to deny HRC the presidency? Maven Dec 2018 #3
Every time I think I have heard all of it, along comes more UpInArms Dec 2018 #8
Of course on behalf of the GOP rockfordfile Dec 2018 #4
Well, they probobly have the information now Farmer-Rick Dec 2018 #9
much bigger than a vast right-wing conspiracy, that's for sure...big dose of Russia as well NRaleighLiberal Dec 2018 #10
Note to U.S. Treasury and DNC: please change your network encryption passwords FakeNoose Dec 2018 #11
We'd know more if only McConnell and Ryan would allow investigations to protect us ffr Dec 2018 #12
Wait for 2020. Trump will release anything and everything of folk on his "Enemies List". Midnight Writer Dec 2018 #13
I've said it before and I'll keep blue-wave Dec 2018 #14
"...suspicions that they might have been working against the interests of the U.S." summer_in_TX Dec 2018 #15
Wow. Well worth reading. scipan Dec 2018 #16
but, folks, they didn't rig any votes or anything like that... Baltimike Dec 2018 #17
So do we have to wait for Rachel to tell us about this? Why no sensational media coverage? allgood33 Dec 2018 #18

UpInArms

(51,284 posts)
1. Very disconcerting
Thu Dec 20, 2018, 02:13 PM
Dec 2018
Analysts at an elite agency within Treasury first warned supervisors in 2016 that the Russians were “manipulating the system” to conduct “fishing expeditions.” And they raised fears that the Treasury’s internal systems could be compromised by viruses contained in emails from the unofficial Russian accounts. But staff continued using the Gmail back channel into 2017, despite repeated internal warnings that Russia could be trawling for sensitive financial records — including Social Security and bank account numbers — to spy on, endanger, or recruit targets in the West.

The Treasury Department refused to tell BuzzFeed News why its officials were communicating with unofficial Gmail accounts at the same time that Russia was sending the suspicious requests, or to say whether it eventually turned over any documents in response. Nor would officials answer any other specific questions about the matter.


A giant WTF?
 

lancelyons

(988 posts)
2. Who are these treasure department officials. I have a feeling they are conservatives.
Thu Dec 20, 2018, 02:19 PM
Dec 2018

These guys need to be put in jail if they did something wrong.

sdfernando

(4,941 posts)
7. No question what they did was illegal.
Thu Dec 20, 2018, 02:40 PM
Dec 2018

The need to be identified, tried for spying for a foreign power, and jailed for an extended period of time....and no country club jail either....general population!....Need to make harsh examples of these people to discourage future wannabes.

Maven

(10,533 posts)
3. OMFG how many traitors were involved in this conspiracy to deny HRC the presidency?
Thu Dec 20, 2018, 02:23 PM
Dec 2018

Who were the Treasury officials? Gmail back channels with Russian agents to sink the candidacy of a woman who was pilloried for her email practices? My fucking head is going to explode. I can't wait until the investigations start in January. More people need to serve real jail time for what went on in 2016.

Farmer-Rick

(10,207 posts)
9. Well, they probobly have the information now
Thu Dec 20, 2018, 02:51 PM
Dec 2018

If Traitor Trump didn't turn it over to them, the compromised US Treasury Department officials surely have.

There are no US secrets anymore.....except secrets from we the people.

NRaleighLiberal

(60,019 posts)
10. much bigger than a vast right-wing conspiracy, that's for sure...big dose of Russia as well
Thu Dec 20, 2018, 04:00 PM
Dec 2018

Hillary was right, of course.

FakeNoose

(32,745 posts)
11. Note to U.S. Treasury and DNC: please change your network encryption passwords
Thu Dec 20, 2018, 04:19 PM
Dec 2018

As a matter of fact, you should change them regularly!

Just sayin'


ffr

(22,671 posts)
12. We'd know more if only McConnell and Ryan would allow investigations to protect us
Thu Dec 20, 2018, 04:30 PM
Dec 2018

And still no meaningful investigations after all that has been exposed.

Traitors!

blue-wave

(4,362 posts)
14. I've said it before and I'll keep
Fri Dec 21, 2018, 02:20 AM
Dec 2018

saying it over and over. The weed tentacles of Russian espionage reached deep into our society to get tRump elected. We need to weed out as much as we can as quickly as we can. I'm convinced it all goes much deeper than what even this article states.

summer_in_TX

(2,748 posts)
15. "...suspicions that they might have been working against the interests of the U.S."
Wed Dec 26, 2018, 10:54 PM
Dec 2018

Whistleblowers in FinCEN, the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, tried to raise the alarm about Russian infiltration into FinCEN, "a powerful unit of the Treasury Department with exclusive access to the most comprehensive and sophisticated financial database in the world" and the surprising cooperation of a number of employees who ignored warnings to stop communicating with them of unencrypted email services like gmail.

They reported their concerns up the chain of command and to Congress, but their information has not led to problems being fixed. In some cases whistleblowers were retaliated against.


Helen Kennedy @HelenKennedy
“Six sources told BuzzFeed News that at least two FinCEN analysts were reported to Treasury’s inspector general over suspicions that they might have been working against the interests of the US.”




scipan

(2,356 posts)
16. Wow. Well worth reading.
Fri Dec 28, 2018, 04:55 PM
Dec 2018

It sounds like there are multiple people in Treasury working for the Russians. And why doesn't anyone listen to the whistleblowers? The Inspector General's office seems lazy at best and compromised at worst.

Baltimike

(4,146 posts)
17. but, folks, they didn't rig any votes or anything like that...
Fri Dec 28, 2018, 05:45 PM
Dec 2018

They did ALL of these other things, but they did NOT switch any votes. Nope. Noway. Nohow.

Why, someone is getting ready to post how "no evidence has been uncovered" except for ALL of this shit. (aside: no evidence has been examined)


smfdh.

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