“False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”
Macbeth, William Shakespeare
In some recent posts of mine, several readers criticized my not discussing what they consider a history of fake accusations by the Democrats over the Trump campaign’s involvement with foreign governments. They shouted about the “fake” Steele dossier and the Russian collusion investigation as examples.
Well, like all things political, the devil (or the truth, in this case) is in the details.
Why does this matter, you might ask? Isn’t this ancient history? Not so fast. To borrow the words of Mark Twain, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”
First, a brief but interesting history lesson.
The biggest misconception of foreign interference in US elections is that 2016 was the first instance and not a very concerted one. This is blatantly false.
Since the 1919 rise of the Communist Party in Russia, they have sought through various overt and covert efforts to mold elections in other countries to their benefit. Lenin founded Communist International (COMINTERN). This organization worked to unite communist parties around the world with intelligence, political, and financial assistance.
It was not nearly as effective as the paranoia it caused, but it did play a factor. And not just in neighboring or nearby European or Asian countries, but in the US as well. McCarthy might have seen communists in every shadow in America, but it wasn’t like they were all imagined.
In 1948, Stalin actively sought to influence the US Presidential Election in favor of Henry Wallace over Harry Truman. Perhaps they believed the only man in history to order the use of an atomic bomb was someone to be feared.
The US responded in kind with Truman ordering the first CIA covert operation against an election in a foreign country targeting the rise of the COMINTERN supported communist party in Italy.
All throughout the ensuing years, various levels of Russian efforts were made to prevent the election of predominantly Republican candidates, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan in particular. It would seem they have now acquired a taste for Republicans of the MAGA variety.
Even the Russians know Trump is no Reagan, although he does emulate Nixon.
With the rise of Mr. Trump in 2016, Russia saw a candidate with authoritarian aspirations, minimal geopolitical experience, and pathologically narcissistic tendencies. They sought to actively support his campaign.
What they saw was opportunity. Clinton, for all her faults, would be able to tap into a plethora of experienced foreign policy experts—sixteen years worth between the administrations of her husband and Barrack Obama. Mr. Trump would have access to few of the same caliber and suffer from the belief he was always the smartest guy in the room. (Which, when one looks at some of his cabinet members and advisers, might have been true at various moments.)
Now here is where Mr. Trump’s supporters start screaming “bull sh**&t, fake news, Democratic party lies.”
Don’t take my word for it—trust but verify, doveryay, no proveryay (I’m on a Russian kick)—read a fascinating book by David Shimer entitled Rigged: America, Russia, and One Hundred Years of Covert Electoral Interference. I realize many of you will instantly recoil at reading the work of a Yale “elite” but give it a shot. It ain’t the literary standard of Hillbilly Elegy but it is well written.
These reports are troubling to say the least. And they dispel the false contention that the “Russian collusion” investigation yielded no evidence of the involvement by the Trump campaign. It yielded the greatest evidence in the history of evidence. Everyone says that they’d never seen such great, beautiful evidence.
Joe Broadmeadow
And there is this, Select Senate Intelligence Committee reports that confirm Russian assistance to the Trump campaign in 2016 and 2020. I encourage you to search for these reports on the Senate Website. They are entitled.
“REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE UNITED STATES SENATE ON RUSSIAN ACTIVE MEASURES CAMPAIGNS AND INTERFERENCE IN THE 2016 U.S. ELECTION VOLUME 1: RUSSIAN EFFORTS AGAINST ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE
And Volume 2 of a similar title.
As well as,
“Joint Report of the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security on Foreign Interference Targeting Election Infrastructure or Political Organization, Campaign, or Candidate Infrastructure Related to the 2020 US Federal Elections”
This is not limited to Russia. Iran, North Korea, and China all are making efforts to undermine the US election process to their own benefit. And it would seem some Americans are unwitting or, even more troubling, willing accomplices.
The findings of the committee—did I mention it was the Bipartisan Select Committee on Intelligence—focused primarily on Russia but the others are equally involved. (Just so we’re all on the same page the definition of bipartisan is: involving the agreement or cooperation of two political parties that usually oppose each other’s policies:)
Democrats and Republicans agreed to the content which includes the following statements.
(Author’s Note: The IRA mentioned in the following quotes is the St. Petersburg, Florida based Internet Research Agency, a Russian funded disinformation organization supporting the candidacy of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton with which members of the Trump campaign had extensive contact and provided information and assistance to the IRA.)
“The Committee found that the IRA sought to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election by harming Hillary Clinton’s chances of success and supporting Donald Trump at the direction of the Kremlin.
(U) The Committee found that the IRA’ s: information warfare campaign was broad in scope and entailed objectives beyond the result of the 2016 presidential election. Further, the Committee’s analysis of the IRA’s activities on social media supports the key judgments of the January 6, 2017, Intelligence Community Assessment, “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections,” that “Russia’s, goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton,· and harm her electability and potential presidency.”5 However, where the Intelligence Community assessed that the Russian government,
“aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him, the Committee found that IRA social media activity was overtly and almost invariably supportive of then-candidate Trump, and to the detriment .of Secretary Clinton’s campaign.(emphasis mine)
·(Volume 2)
*****
In addition, posing as U.S. political activists, the IRA requested-and in some cases obtained-assistance from the Trump Campaign in procuring materials for rallies and in promoting and organizing the rallies.
7. (U) The Committee found that the IRA was not Russia’s only vector for attempting to influence the United States through social media in 2016. Publicly available information showing additional influence operations emanating from Russia unrelated to IRA activity make clear the Kremlin was not reliant exclusively on the IRA in 2016. Russia’s intelligence services, including the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU) also exploited U.S. social media platforms as a vehicle for influence operations. Information acquired by the Committee from intelligence oversight, social media companies, the Special Counsel’s investigative findings, and research by commercial cybersecurity companies all reflect the Russian government’s use of the GRU to carry out another core vector of attack on the 2016 election: the dissemination of hacked materials.” (Volume 2)
These reports are troubling to say the least. And they dispel the false contention that the “Russian collusion” investigation yielded no evidence of the involvement by the Trump campaign. It yielded the greatest evidence in the history of evidence. Everyone says that they’d never seen such great, beautiful evidence.
The Biden administration has made some efforts to target and prevent such interference, but it remains to be seen if it is adequate. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/04/19/2021-08098/blocking-property-with-respect-to-specified-harmful-foreign-activities-of-the-government-of-the
A broader strategy has evolved from these attempts. The efforts to support a Russian favorable candidate continue, but a more dangerous effort is underway to spread doubt about the integrity of the election that can accomplish the same goal; making the US weaker and ineffective in combating Russian expansion efforts to increase their international influence.
And it would seem they have a willing, or willfully ignorant, candidate in Mr. Trump as he continues to sow the seeds of doubt over the well-settled and decidedly false claim of a stolen election in 2020.
This was not a political witch hunt, this was and is an existential threat to the United States of America by several of our most challenging adversaries through their demonstrated preference for a specific candidate.
That alone should make every American question his candidacy and, most importantly, his loyalty to the nation. The simplest question is why would the Russians prefer Mr. Trump? I think we all know the answer.
Here are the links to the Senate Intelligence Committee Report Volume One and Two and DOJ/DHS Combined Reports. Read for yourself.
It is amazing the things that are available right before your eyes, assuming they are open.
IN THE 2016 U.S. ELECTION
IN THE 2016 U.S. ELECTION
Joint Report DOJ and DHS on Foreign Interference in 2020 Election Link https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/2021-justice-department-and-homeland-security-election-interference-report/d7fd65924c984439/full.pdf
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The Writing of Joe Broadmeadow 