First of all, it is remarkable that the Clinton campaign recently alleged “collusion” between the Trump campaign and the Russians. Add to that the fact that the combined might of the US intel apparatus ALL say Putin, without a doubt, ordered the hacks and propaganda campaigns. What does that leave us if Trump and Co have “colluded”?
Hillary Clinton is accusing Donald Trump of treason? That’s what it looks like. And she is going to sit, as is her duty, at this traitor’s inauguration. That is remarkable as well.
Kremlin says U.S. hacking allegations are 'reminiscent of a witch-hunt'
“Unsurprisingly, Putin has joined Trump in cheering foreign interference in the U.S. election that is clearly designed to inflict political damage on Hillary Clinton and Democrats,” Clinton spokesman Jesse Lehrich said in an email. “This is a national security issue and every American deserves answers about potential collusion between Trump campaign associates and the Kremlin.”
Wow.
But that is not the point I wanted to make. I have noticed almost identical talking points between the Russians and the Trump campaign. It dawned on me when I noticed both using the expression “witch hunt” when describing the media looking into this alarming situation.
To Mr Trump and Mr Putin I ask: Why wouldn’t the media look into the Russians overtly weaponizing hacked data for the first time? How quickly you both jumped on the term “witch hunt”?
Reuters noted this duplication of messaging.
Trump:
Investigation of Russian hacking is a ‘witch hunt,’ Trump says
“This is a political witch hunt,” Trump said Friday in an interview with the New York Times ahead of a private briefing from U.S. officials on a classified 50-page report, ordered by President Obama, on Russia’s role in the election.
Russia:
Kremlin says U.S. hacking allegations are 'reminiscent of a witch-hunt'
"We are observing a serious fatigue with these accusations," Peskov told reporters on a conference call. "It truly is reminiscent of a witch-hunt."
His words echoed a phrase used by Trump himself, who was quoted as saying in an interview with the New York Times newspaper on Friday that the storm over Russian hacking was a "political witch hunt."
And they previously both made mention of the DNC lax security (all said of course said by Trumpers and Russians alike without mentioning numerous reports of RNC hacking yet no publication or “weaponizing” of RNC data).
Trump (of course lying, while knowing US intel shows RNC hacked):
'Somebody hacked the DNC but why did they not have "hacking defense" like the RNC has and why have they not responded to the terrible things they did and said (like giving the questions to the debate to H),' he wrote in a pair of tweets.
'A total double standard! Media, as usual, gave them a pass.'
Putin (also blatantly lying, because his foreign minister (below) admitted it!):
Putin Says DNC Hack Was a Public Service, Russia Didn’t Do It
“Listen, does it even matter who hacked this data?’’ Putin said in an interview at the Pacific port city of Vladivostok on Thursday. “The important thing is the content that was given to the public.’’
[snip]
“There’s no need to distract the public’s attention from the essence of the problem by raising some minor issues connected with the search for who did it,” Putin said of the DNC breach. “But I want to tell you again, I don’t know anything about it, and on a state level Russia has never done this.”
It looks to me that the “collusion” is on-going, likely from many of Trump’s associates with close ties to Russia, perhaps at behest of the likes of Mantafort or Tillerson.
Lastly, as to Putin’s denials, maybe the media could ask him why his foreign minister let this slip:
Was Russia in cahoots with WikiLeaks over Democrat emails? 'Maybe we helped a bit', admits Putin insider
A pro-Kremlin political analyst with close ties to the Putin-led state has claimed Russian forces may have "helped a bit" with recent email disclosures from WikiLeaks – an admission that will only fuel speculation about a co-ordinated effort to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Sergey Markov, previously described as an "informal adviser" to Russian President Vladimir Putin, spoke out following the rise to power of Donald Trump, who successfully won the US presidency on 9 November after facing off against Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton.
[snip]
Markov branded the outcome of the election as "a great day for American democracy". As with previous denials from both Putin and Assange, the analyst rubbished any claims of state involvement, yet also teased: "Maybe we helped a bit with WikiLeaks."
Well did you or didn’t you Mr Russian Apparatchik? You just couldn’t help boasting a bit huh?