beautiful anon!
don't you have a ball and chain to tend to Douglas ("Tom")?
Thousands of emails stolen from Republican committee's aides
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of emails were stolen from aides to the National Republican Congressional Committee during the 2018 midterm campaign, a major breach exposing vulnerabilities that have kept cybersecurity experts on edge since the 2016 presidential race.
The email accounts were compromised during a series of intrusions that had been spread over several months and discovered in April, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. At least four party aides had their emails surveilled by hackers, said the person, who was not authorized to discuss the details publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The committee said an "unknown entity" was behind the hack but provided few other details. A cybersecurity firm and the FBI have been investigating the matter, the committee said. The FBI declined to comment.
Politically motivated cyberespionage is commonplace across the world, but Americans have become particularly alert to the possibility of digital interference since Russia's meddling in the 2016 election. The theft of Democrats' emails is still fresh in the minds of many political operatives and lawmakers, who have stepped up defensive measures but still struggle to protect themselves.
Foreign spies routinely try to hack into politicians' emails to gain insight, ferret out weaknesses and win a diplomatic edge. But hackers often launch sweeping spear-phishing campaigns to gain access to a variety accounts — with no political motivation. With no immediate suspects and few technical details, it's unclear what the significance of this latest incursion is.
In August, the Democratic National Committee thought it had thwarted an attempt to break into its massive voter database — but the effort turned out to be unauthorized test that mimicked what an attack would look like.
CrowdStrike, a California-based cybersecurity company, said Tuesday the NRCC asked the company in April to "perform an investigation related to unauthorized access" to the committee's emails. Before that, the company had been helping the committee protect its internal corporate network, which wasn't compromised.
"The cybersecurity of the committee's data is paramount, and upon learning of the intrusion, the NRCC immediately launched an internal investigation and notified the FBI, which is now investigating the matter," the committee said in a statement. The hack was first reported by Politico.
more:https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/national/thousands-of-emails-stolen-from-republican-committee-s-aides/article_212d112a-f8d9-11e8-bb83-df7594a906f6.html
whoops didn't mean to post the image with solomon
Papadopoulos, van der Zwaan sentencing gives Mueller probe insight
Three individuals who pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents in the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election could spend a paltry 44 days in prison.
Dutch attorney Alex van der Zwaan received a 30-day sentence, and former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos is serving 14 days. On Tuesday, special counsel Robert Mueller recommended that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn receive no prison time when he is sentenced this month.
It’s far from the five-year maximum penalty that lying to the FBI carries — and analysts said it provides a look into Mr. Mueller’s goals as he nears completion of his probe.
“These are people who, at the beginning of the investigation, did not have major roles, but they had information,” said Nick Akerman, a former assistant special prosecutor in the Watergate scandal. “Flynn obviously had much more information, and his deal took that into account.”
The Flynn recommendation came as part of a new court filing hinting at the former Trump figure’s cooperation on several investigations. While most of the details were redacted, the 13 pages left all sides speculating on Mr. Mueller’s endgame.
“That most of the details are redacted signals he has given far more than we or the President may know,” tweeted Rep. Adam Schiff, the California Democrat poised to become chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
He also pointed to the “irony” of Flynn’s guilty plea, after he led the 2016 GOP convention in chants of “lock her up” aimed at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Legal experts took note of Mr. Mueller’s use of charges of lying.
“Do prosecutors always prosecute everyone who lies to the FBI? No. But prosecutors with Mueller could use it as a point of leverage by offering a less serious sentence than it deserves,” said Andrew Leipold, who was a member of the team led by independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr during investigations into President Bill Clinton.
And that threat may have had an impact. In a court filing for Flynn, prosecutors said his decision to plead guilty encouraged others to be “forthcoming with [the office] and cooperate.”
“It has always been a somewhat controversial crime in the sense that you can be stopped on the street and asked questions and the FBI doesn’t always tell you it’s a crime to lie to them,” Mr. Akerman said. “It has been criticized over time, and I think prosecutors should be careful to use it only when they sense it’s needed.”
Mr. Mueller has been careful not to reveal the extent of cooperation he has received, but court documents offer glimpses. And the more valuable the information, the less Mr. Mueller pushes for prison time.
For example, Flynn’s sentencing memo credits him with providing “substantial assistance” to prosecutors investigating alleged ties between the Russian government and members of the Trump administration. It also said he is cooperating on “several” different investigations. In exchange for that help, he likely will be spared prison time.
“Flynn is about as important as they come, having been national security adviser,” said Kimberly Wehle, who teaches law at the University of Baltimore. “They are handling him in a special way.”
more:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/dec/5/george-papadopoulos-alex-van-der-zwaan-sentencing-/
Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano expects Donald Trump Jr. to be indicted
The senior judicial analyst at Fox News said Wednesday that he expects Donald Trump Jr. to be indicted — and said the presidential son does too.
In an interview Wednesday on SiriusXM’s “The Dan Abrams Show,” Mr. Napolitano based his speculation on special counsel Robert Mueller’s recommendation that former national security adviser Michael Flynn serve no jail time in light of the “substantial assistance” he had given the probe.
When Mr. Abrams suggested that means Mr. Mueller expects to bring charges against someone in President Trump’s inner circle, Mr. Napolitano replied, “yes.”
“I don’t know who,” Mr. Napolitano said, “but I do know that Donald Jr. has told friends he expects to be indicted.”
“Do you expect he’d be indicted?” Mr. Abrams continued.
“Yes,” Mr. Napolitano replied.
more:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/dec/5/andrew-napolitano-expects-donald-trump-jr-be-indic/