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FBI Director: Guccifer Admitted He Lied About Hacking Hillary Clinton's Email (dailydot.com)

blottsie writes from a report via The Daily Dot: The Romanian hacker known as Guccifer (real name Marcel Lehel Lazar) admitted to the FBI that he lied to the public when he said he repeatedly hacked into Hillary Clinton's email server in 2013. FBI Director James Comey testified before members on Congress on Thursday that Guccifer never hacked into Clinton's servers and in fact admitted that he lied. Lazar told Fox News and NBC News in May 2016 about his alleged hacking. Despite offering no proof, the claim caused a huge stir, including making headline news on some of America's biggest publications, which offered little skepticism of his claims. "Can you confirm that Guccifer never gained access to her server?" asked Texas Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold. "He did not. He admitted that was a lie," Comey replied. Lazar is currently imprisoned in Alexandria, Virginia, following his extradition from Romania.

16 of 289 comments (clear)

  1. It's your turn, Mr Assange by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Would the last asshole claiming to have dirt on Hillary please present your evidence or kindly go fist yourself? I'm no fan of hers but I'm sick of these gutter sniping little shiats trying to play the kingslayer.

    1. Re:It's your turn, Mr Assange by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Funny

      The Republicans need someone to blame for the fact that they chose a self-aggrandizing Nazi as their Presidential candidate.

      Trump isn't a Nazi. You should be ashamed of yourself for suggesting something so sick. Those swastikas are really just Hindu good luck symbols. Sad!

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re:It's your turn, Mr Assange by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Nazis most certainly were populists, or at least posed as populists. Hitler didn't win power by proclaiming he was going to kill all the Jews or invading the rest of Europe, he got in because he promised to make Germany great again, to go after all the elements of German society that made it weak, and make everyone who he viewed as Germany's enemies pay for what they had done. While Mein Kampf had some pretty strong hints as to what he was thinking in the long-term, it wasn't until he had successfully remilitarized the Rhineland that he felt Germany could take on Europe, and it wasn't until he had abandoned all other means of getting rid of the Jews that the Final Solution was floated.

      So yes, Trump is a lot like Hitler, in some respects at least. The populism, the finding of easy targets to scapegoat for all the ills, the rhetoric about how he will make his nation great and restore its glory. He's walked a few steps down the road of Hitler, the only real difference being that whatever else Hitler was, Hitler was capable of actual long-term thinking, planning, and political acumen. Trump appears to possess no such capabilities. What he does have in common with Hitler is the ability to say the unsayable and convince his followers that the unsayable is only unsayable because the enemies of the people don't want it said.

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    3. Re:It's your turn, Mr Assange by hairyfeet · · Score: 4, Insightful

      As compared to the president who thought there was 52 states?

      Anybody who has been on stage in front of a lot of people will tell you that you WILL fuck up, especially if you are not reading off of a teleprompter or cue cards. You will trip over your own tongue, get numbers mixed up, hell we had a president that any time someone pointed a camera at him would trip over his own feet.

      I'm more worried about their actions than the occasional gaff, and Hillary having her hubby meet the AG on the tarmac and letting her know that she could keep her cushy job if she played ball (You don't REALLY think he spent an hour waiting on a runway for her so they could talk about grandkids, do ya?) which led to just 2 days later the head of the FBI making it clear she broke dozens of laws...but that didn't matter cuz Hillary? Yeah I wouldn't elect that woman dog catcher, much less POTUS.

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    4. Re:It's your turn, Mr Assange by tburkhol · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Is there any level of stupidity that will finally convince the man is a simpering retard?

      Trump's use of language is pretty amazing. He manages to come across as so sloppy in his selection of wrong words that his supporters can think, "He didn't really mean that, literally." It gives them license to imagine that Trump "really" meant whatever is in that supporter's own head. So, when Trump detractors see him make racist, economically irrational, or politically naive statements, his fans get to hear exactly what they want to hear.

      I have no idea if he's doing this intentionally or if it's an accident of his 6th-grade vocabulary, but it's fascinating. If the PR people can figure out how he does it, I have no doubt that we'll see a new wave of politicians replacing the old-style non-statement with Trump-style reverse-projection.

  2. Is it just me by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Interesting

    or was this entire thing a disaster for the anti-Hilary camp. When they tried grilling him on Petraeus he was given the chance to defend his actions and provide evidence that Petraeus actions were willful. It's undermined the entire narrative. Meanwhile Trump's doing a lousy job with it too. Did they just botch the whole thing or have they given up and decided to side with Hilary rather than risk Trump?

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  3. Re:FBI by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 4, Insightful

    something about a blowjob

    I think you mean that history will remember an extremely hypocritical and self-effacing reversal by the 'progressive' Feminist community on the matter of sexual harassment in the workplace. An enabling First Lady who actively worked to strike down and discredit the female victims of her husband. Said First Lady attempting to become a figurehead for the Feminist movement in the form of the First Woman President.

    It's so weird that if, say, a Gloria Steinem feminist in 1975 was asked if it could come to be, they'd say you were out of your fucking mind.

    But anyways. It doesn't matter. It's Hillary's turn to be nominated.

  4. Re:Hang on by drunken_boxer777 · · Score: 5, Informative

    He wasn't extradited for his claim about Hillary's server. He was extradited for:

    In the United States, Lazar is charged in a nine-count indictment with three counts of wire fraud, three counts of gaining unauthorized access to protected computers, and one count each of aggravated identity theft, cyberstalking and obstruction of justice. ... Lazar hacked into the email and social media accounts of high-profile victims, including a family member of two former U.S. presidents, a former U.S. Cabinet member, a former member of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former presidential advisor. After gaining unauthorized access to their accounts, Lazar publicly released his victims’ private email correspondence, medical and financial information and personal photographs. The indictment also alleges that in July 2013 and August 2013, Lazar impersonated a victim after compromising the victim’s account.

    https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr...

    Check the timeline. He claimed to have hacked Hillary's server in May. The DOJ press release above is dated April 1, meaning he was already extradited before making the claim. So they still have a number of charges to investigate.

  5. 100+ emails classified when they arrived on server by drnb · · Score: 5, Informative

    Let me get this straight. An email server that had nothing critical on it ...

    Nope, wrong, the FBI director testified that there were over 100 emails that were classified at the time they arrived on the server. Hillary's claim that all the controversial emails were later reclassified after arrival was proven false.

    And these 100+ only represent what was recoverable. Tens of thousands of emails were not recoverable. And we also know from the FBI investigation that Hillary's claim that these emails were all personal was also proven false. Several of these not handed over by Hillary and deleted from her server were also classified, they were found through other recipients government email accounts.

  6. Re:Of course he did. by frovingslosh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Oh, it was quite clear. The FBI asked him simply "Did you hack Hillary's Email? If you did it is another crime that we will charge you with. If you say that you didn't then we are not going to charge you with that, since we would rather say that you didn't. So did you?"

    --
    I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
  7. Re:100+ emails classified when they arrived on ser by drnb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Not true. He stated 8 had classification markings, all of which contained paragraphs marked with (c) designating them as confidential.

    "In total, the investigation found 110 emails in 52 email chains containing information that was classified at the time it was sent or received. Eight chains contained top secret information, the highest level of classification, 36 chains contained secret information, and the remaining eight contained confidential information. Most of these emails, however, did not contain markings clearly delineating their status.
    Even so, Clinton and her team still should have known the information was not appropriate for an unclassified system, Comey said.
    "There is evidence to support a conclusion that any reasonable person in Secretary Clinton's position or in the position of those with whom she was corresponding about the matters should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation," Comey said of some of the top secret chains."
    http://www.politifact.com/trut...

    Markings are not required. Some information is classified by its very nature and does not need an explicit mark. State department personnel and other authorized to handle classified information are well instructed on these facts.

  8. Re:100+ emails classified when they arrived on ser by drnb · · Score: 4, Informative

    right... because people just a a tingly spidey-sense when an email has classified information in it

    No spidey sense required, people who handle classified info are trained in what info is classified by default, regardless of markings. Basically a marking must be there to say it is declassified, not that it is classified. For example references to undercover CIA operatives, even indirect references, which is one of the things found to have been passing through Clinton's server.

    That is why they did not attempt to prosecute, ...

    No, the FBI director specified that there was no clear intent, merely incompetence. Intent is a necessary element of a crime. That is why he offered as an example, firing people and revoking their security clearance, when they display such incompetence on the job.

    And for the 8 pieces that she received that were actually marked... then I say BRAVO, for only making a mistake 8 times out of 30,000 emails.

    No, its 8 out of 110.

  9. Re:Crooked Hillary by ThatsMyNick · · Score: 4, Insightful

    She needs to go to jail for mishandling classified information. FBI's report stated, she did it — suck it up, cupcake, while the rest of us are sucking up the sorry reality, that laws are for "little people".

    Why the fuck do you think FBI decided not to prosecute then? It was pretty obvious the director doesnt think they would be able to convince the jury to convict, and it wouldnt hold water in court. The FBI doesnt have like a 93% conviction rate for no reason. Or do you think they should press charges anyway, because it serves your political agenda?

  10. FBI Director says 1 prosecution in 99 years by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 5, Informative

    So if you read the transcript or excerpts now appearing on many sites...

    Comey says that only one person has been prosecuted for gross negligence (what hillary is accused of) and in that case there was espionage involved as well.

    Further...

    12:12 p.m. Pushing back on Republican characterizations of his recommendation adhering to a "double standard" when it comes to Hillary Clinton, FBI Director James Comey said it would instead be a "double standard" if the former secretary of state was prosecuted.

    "You know what would be a double standard? If she was prosecuted for gross negligence," Comey noted. "She was negligent. That I can establish."

    11:45 a.m. Comey told the House Oversight Committee that the decision not to recommend an indictment was unanimous among the investigative team.

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    She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
  11. Re:FBI by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 4, Informative

    "sexual harassment in the workplace"... "female victims of her husband"

    You make it sound like Clinton was a serial rapist or something.

    It was consensual and completely legal. There was never any debate over that.

    Clinton lied about it under oath. That was the problem.

  12. Re:Of course he did. by reboot246 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Guccifer may be the only one who didn't hack her email.