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Trump To Target Foreign Meddling In US Elections With Sanctions Order (reuters.com)
An anonymous reader shares an exclusive report from Reuters: President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order as soon as Wednesday that will slap sanctions on any foreign companies or people who interfere in U.S. elections, based on intelligence agency findings, two sources familiar with the matter said. Trump's decision to sign an executive order coincides with intelligence agencies, military and law enforcement preparing to defend the Nov. 6 congressional elections from predicted foreign attacks even as Trump derides a special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections.
Sanction targets could include individual people or entire companies accused of interfering in U.S. elections by cyber attacks or other means, a U.S. official told Reuters. The order will put a range of agencies in charge of deciding if meddling occurred, led by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and including the CIA, the National Security Agency and the Homeland Security Department, the sources said. Based on a recent draft of the order reviewed by the U.S. official, it will require any federal agency aware of election interference by foreigners to take the information to the office of Director of National Intelligence. Election interference will be defined in the order as hacking attempts against "election infrastructure," and efforts to sway public opinion through coordinated digital propaganda or systematic leaks of private political information. UPDATE: The story has been updated with additional information from Reuters.
Sanction targets could include individual people or entire companies accused of interfering in U.S. elections by cyber attacks or other means, a U.S. official told Reuters. The order will put a range of agencies in charge of deciding if meddling occurred, led by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and including the CIA, the National Security Agency and the Homeland Security Department, the sources said. Based on a recent draft of the order reviewed by the U.S. official, it will require any federal agency aware of election interference by foreigners to take the information to the office of Director of National Intelligence. Election interference will be defined in the order as hacking attempts against "election infrastructure," and efforts to sway public opinion through coordinated digital propaganda or systematic leaks of private political information. UPDATE: The story has been updated with additional information from Reuters.
Biting the hand that others imagine feed you
He talked. Talk is cheap.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
Get ready for it.
Hacking voting systems is a distraction. It is pumping up dissent and rivalry and anger, by foreign governments trolling myriad sites, that is the real problem.
It's not so much free speech as it is speech by governments without them letting you know it is a government, much less which.
You don't think Russia or NK have dozens of innocent accounts with high karma ready to downmod stuff? Tout racial friction? Attempt to portray right wing as synonymous with neo Nazis? Not point out some are, but touting they are the same, while posting simultaneously messages that are Nazi-like as if by a Trump supporter? They play the roll of both sides.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
This seems like it should already be a law but if not it will really change things a lot. But wow I bet thousands of company's are shitting their pants right now because they won't have control over representatives any longer or will have to be even more shady in the way they contribute.. not just donating to the campaign or the campaign's charities or whatever.
Are you one of the 43% of republicans that would defend the 2nd amendment to the death, but would have no problem giving the POTUS the power to close down any news outlet arbitrarily (as long as they are liberal news outlets of course), knowning full well that this is a clear violation of the first amendment ?
Yep, we know which amendment almost half of republicans only care about. And all of Trump supporters.
...I'm sure all of Trump's detractors will agree that he has done the right thing and it's about time.
Won't they?
I guess hope springs eternal in that regard. Irrational behavior doesn't usually change. Just like there are those who wouldn't care if he shot someone dead on a public street (his example, not mine) there are those who'd complain if he single handedly cured cancer and poverty world wide.
So my guess is this action will 1. not be covered by his detractors in the media who will ignore it and 2. when covered. will be derided for various reasons (ineffective, to late, etc.). The end result will be that he will get no credit for his efforts, despite the fact that this is about all he can conceivably do with the bounds of his constitutional powers.
Really, the issue needs to be addressed by Congress, but they have a lower overall approval rating than the president... A rating that I believe is well earned.
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
...I'm sure all of Trump's detractors will agree that he has done the right thing and it's about time.
Won't they?
When it comes to Trump you get all the consistency of a magic 8 ball. If somebody shakes the old fart between now and the election we will get a totally different reaction to any election meddling from what he's rambling about now. In the absence of any consistency in this White House I'll believe he's willing to slap sanctions on Russia it when I see him do it.
Does he mean the 'intelligence agencies' that he says are lying about everything and are worthless? Or does he now like them (this week)? Or has someone spoon-fed Trump enough that he's got it through his 5th grader mentality how things actually work?
Is anyone here old enough to remember Trump's big "voter fraud" commission? It was going to uncover the millions of illegal aliens that voted in the last election, giving Hillary the popular vote.
Member?
You are welcome on my lawn.
I hate to say this, but the executive order is likely illegal and a violation of the first amendment. The constitution extends its protections to foreign nationals while they reside in the country. Of course as Alan Dershowitz has pointed out, so far no one has a crime that actually involves the Russians. Well unless you count Mueller indicting a company that didn't exist until after the elections
https://www.politico.com/story...
If the Russians have time travel this is all moot anyway.
...any foreign companies or people.
I don't see government in there so unless the XO covers those guys, e.g. Russia. It doesn't mean much. I have a hunch this XO was inspired more by David Hogg than Russian interference.
Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once
...I'm sure all of Trump's detractors will agree that he has done the right thing and it's about time.
Won't they?
When it comes to Trump you get all the consistency of a magic 8 ball. If somebody shakes the old fart between now and the election we will get a totally different reaction to any election meddling from what he's rambling about now. In the absence of any consistency in this White House I'll believe he's willing to slap sanctions on Russia it when I see him do it.
Are you looking at what he does then?
Didn't he sign the bill that increased the sanctions on Russia that passed though Congress early in his term? I believe he did on 8/2/17. Now I hear lots of folks say that this was because he didn't have a choice given the margins it passed Congress with, but he signed it. See H.R.3364 on Tomas.gov for details.
So are you paying attention?
Paying attention?? ... Well ... You said it yourself. The margins were so large the first time that bill passed it was obvious it was veto proof since Congress can override a presidential veto by a two-thirds supermajority in both houses. H.r.3364 passed the House with 419 votes to 3 against and the senate with 98 votes to 2 against. Trump had no choice but to sign. If he hand't signed Congress would have shoved that bill down his throat with a second vote and since Trump is always a winner he could not very well suffer that humiliations. At least Congress threw in some face-saving sanctions on Iran and N-Korea as a consolation prize and Trump let it go.
It's the Russian Mob that keeps The Trump Organization afloat. The Russian government doesn't have the money.
There is a difference between the Russian Government and the Russian Mob?
He always projects his own crimes onto others.
Always.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --