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Did Russians Really Penetrate Florida's Election Systems? Maybe (nbcnews.com)

Anonymous readers share a report: Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, has reaped the political whirlwind in the 10 days since he proclaimed that Russian hackers had "penetrated" some of his state's county voting systems. The governor of Florida, Rick Scott, a Republican who is running against Nelson for his U.S. Senate seat this fall, has blasted his claim as irresponsible. The top Florida elections official, also a Republican, said he had seen no indication it's true. And The Washington Post weighed in Friday with a 2,717-word fact check that all but accused Nelson -- without evidence -- of making it up. However, three people familiar with the intelligence tell NBC News that there is a classified basis for Nelson's assertion, which he made at a public event after being given information from the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The extent and seriousness of the threat remains unclear, shrouded for reasons of national security.

[...] Through a spokesman, Nelson declined to comment. At a, Aug. 7 campaign event in Florida's capital, Nelson said Intelligence Committee leaders asked that he "let supervisors of elections in Florida know that Russians are inside our records." He added that Russian hackers "have already penetrated certain counties in the state and they now have free rein to move about." "Either Bill Nelson knows of crucial information the federal government is withholding from Florida election officials, or he is simply making things up," said Scott, who is seeking to take Nelson's Senate seat, which the senator has held since 2001. But Scott, who as governor has a security clearance, has not actually disputed Nelson's assertion. His spokesman said the governor had not personally called anyone at the Department of Homeland Security to seek a classified briefing to get to the bottom of the matter.

1 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. Re:"people familiar" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

    Total BS. Nelson is losing and he knows it, so he's starting the "Russians stole it" crap to try and de-legitimize Scott's win. Claire McCaskill of Missouri is saying the same thing.

    It is the same reason the New York times ran a bogus op ed about Georgia voter suppression in preparation for Stacey Abrams, the first black woman nominated to run for governor, losing.

    Considering the left leaning Atlanta Journal Constitution says Black, nonwhite voters on the rise in Georgia, AJC analysis shows that must mean who ever is working to suppress minority voting is doing a piss poor job.

    This is all the Democrats have. They have no message, they are running either as socialists or as Trump resistance. In other words, they want to take every thing you have or they want your vote because you're supposed to hate Trump. They know this is a losing argument so they have to start now claiming "muh Russians did it".