Declassified Report Claims Putin Ordered Campaign To Erode Faith In US ElectionBy Claire Bernish However, the report claiming Putin ordered this campaign reads more like a hit piece than a studied and cautious analysis. Worse, the first media outlet to publish the report was none other than the Washington Post, whose ever-heightening McCarthyite articles many since retracted have parroted the governments claims sans investigation or evidence. We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russias goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency, the report boldly states, citing Moscows longstanding desire to undermine the US-led liberal democratic order. Further, while the FBI and CIA claimed to have high confidence in the assessment, this murky report came only with moderate confidence of its accuracy from the one agency who would have the most comprehensive electronic records of such a campaign: the NSA. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump, the report alarmingly continues. When it appeared to Moscow that Secretary Clinton was likely to win the election, the Russian influence campaign then focused on undermining her expected presidency. Additionally, the report continues, the three agencies assess with high confidence that Russian military intelligence (General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate or GRU) used the Guccifer 2.0 persona and DCLeaks.com to release US victim data obtained in cyber operations publicly and in exclusives to media outlets and relayed material to WikiLeaks. [] Russia used trolls as well as RT as part of its influence efforts to denigrate Secretary Clinton. This effort amplified stories on scandals about Secretary Clinton and the role of WikiLeaks in the election campaign. Their reasoning and proof? A journalist who is a leading expert on the Internet Research Agency claimed that some social media accounts that appear to be tied to Russias professional trollsbecause they previously were devoted to supporting Russian actions in Ukrainestarted to advocate for President-elect Trump as early as December 2015. In other words, an unnamed, alleged journalist ostensibly concluded that outlets who reported on Russias actions in Ukraine a country whose coup was supported by the U.S. government and appeared to support the candidacy of Trump are now thus tied to the Russian government. And the NSA, CIA, and FBI expect the public to swallow that an unnamed journalists personal opinion drove a significant portion of their conclusion not only Russian actors, but Putin himself, successfully swayed the vote away from Hillary Clinton. While RT might be a Russian state-run media organization, the outlet never came out in support of Trump or Clinton in fact, RT did what a number of independent and alternative media outlets did reported the factual evidence of rampant corruption in the Democratic establishment exposed in documents published by WikiLeaks. Indeed, select members of the intelligence community have relentlessly conflated RT, WikiLeaks, and alternative media with a Russian propaganda machine providing exactly zero evidence to prove the claim. Former intelligence officials came forward Thursday to denounce claims those documents had even resulted from a hack as, again, the NSA would be instantly aware and eager to provide proof. On top of simply relying on this seemingly magical journalist, the report claims RTs coverage of third party candidates was a deliberate attack on the very fabric of US democracy. In an effort to highlight the alleged lack of democracy in the United States, RT broadcast, hosted, and advertised third party candidate debates and ran reporting supportive of the political agenda of these candidates. The RT hosts asserted that the US two-party system does not represent the views of at least one-third of the population and is a sham. As weve pointed out here at The Free Thought Project on numerous occasions the two-party paradigmis a sham. This new report heralded as proof positive of Russian government election meddling does little to bolster confidence from the public that the claim isnt just hot air. Further, As the report continues, Russian intelligence agencies conducted cyber operations against targets associated with the 2016 US presidential election, including targets associated with both major US political parties and Russian intelligence obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple US state or local electoral boards. Cyber operations against targets is phenomenally broad and proves nothing and fails to address that Clinton campaign chair, John Podesta, fecklessly used the word password for his password something WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange notes a 14-year-old could discern. Secondly, the claim Russia somehow hacked any U.S. electrical grid has proven preposterously untrue thus far so much so, in fact, the Washington Posts claim Vermonts power grid was compromised has since been fully retracted for being literally the Fake News it rails against, and completely false. This report wholly lacking solid evidence of the vociferous, dangerous accusations it proclaims portends a drawn-out, heavy-handed campaign by the government of the United States to censor dissenting thought, speech, and independent reporting unacceptable to the political establishment. Without proof, the U.S. political establishment and outgoing Obama administration just pinned an accusation on Russia, an act that, according to an Executive Order, could result in military aggression. And all of this because Clintonites refuse to accept the nastiness, corruption, and collusion exposed in authentic documents and just eat crow. Claire Bernish writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com, where this article first appeared. The vast right wing conspiracy excuse got used up in the nineties and so they had to run with a vast Putin/Russia conspiracy this time. You seeits never the fault of Hillary Clinton or the fault of John Podesta, they were entitled to the White House or so they felt and still maybe feel. They wont face the fact that more and more people were becoming aware of Hillary Clinton, John Podesta and team Hillarys corrupt and unethical practices no matter how much the controlled main stream media tried to cover for Hillary Clinton. The Democrats dont want to have to admit that there were problems with disgruntled Bernie Sanders supporters within the party and the way the DNC CHOSE to handle it. Those emails were leaked to Wikileaks as payback for the way the DNC screwed over the Bernie Sanders supporters. Try to recall the Democrats convention in Philadelphia and all the Bernie supporter walking out en masse in disgust. The vast Putin/Russia conspiracy is something that got conjured up to try convince everyone that the DNC and team Hillary were the victims and not the perpetrators of unethical and improper practices during the election process. Whoever released the Clinton information should be thanked for showing the people the truth behind the smile. As far as we have been told, the information released was valid and not created by the hackers. Americans should know such information before an election. There is no rationale for believing that a candidates true character and prior actions should be allowed to remain secret before being elected to high office. This is just more BS from the Obama regime Trying to de-legitimatize the Trump presidency. What a bunch of crybaby losers! Show us the PROOF, not someones liberal lies! This report wholly lacking solid evidence of the vociferous, dangerous accusations it proclaims is nothing but a bunch of lies and conjectures! I believe NOTHING that concerns Obama, the great liar and thief! 