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MelissaB

(16,420 posts)
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 12:37 PM Dec 2017

Mueller is reportedly zeroing in on the Trump campaign's data operation and the RNC

Source: Business Insider

*Special counsel Robert Mueller has reportedly begun to question Republican National Committee staffers about the party's digital work with the Trump campaign last year.
*The report indicates that Mueller may be homing in on yet another facet of Russia's election interference — its social media influence campaign and targeted political advertising.
*Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner managed the Trump campaign's data operation and recently hired a crisis public relations firm to handle all press inquiries.

Special counsel Robert Mueller has begun to question Republican National Committee staffers about the party's 2016 campaign data operation, which helped President Donald Trump's campaign team target voters in critical swing states.

Two sources told Yahoo News that Mueller's team is examining whether the joint RNC-Trump campaign data operation — which was directed on Trump's side by Brad Parscale and managed by Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner — "was related to the activities of Russian trolls and bots aimed at influencing the American electorate."

The FBI has been scrutinizing Kushner's contacts in December 2016 with the Russian ambassador to the US and the CEO of a sanctioned Russian bank.

The special counsel's office declined to comment on its ongoing investigation. Multiple requests to various current and former RNC officials on Wednesday went unanswered. A source close to one of the Trump campaign's data firms said they were "unaware of anyone being questioned."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/mueller-questions-rnc-digital-operation-trump-campaign-russia-2017-12

49 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Mueller is reportedly zeroing in on the Trump campaign's data operation and the RNC (Original Post) MelissaB Dec 2017 OP
Just a guess here but... SHRED Dec 2017 #1
That seems to be his MO. He knows the facts and then questions OliverQ Dec 2017 #37
No wonder FAUX is freaking. SHRED Dec 2017 #39
As any great prosecutor would Happyhippychick Dec 2017 #45
I hope Bob and his team are after Cambridge Analytica and the Mercers too. Botany Dec 2017 #2
Maybe this is why the "guy" from Florida wants to "purge" the FBI turbinetree Dec 2017 #3
Maybe thats why GOPers, like Nunes & Gowdy are not Iliyah Dec 2017 #4
I mean the dots are getting connected so to speak, then you have those two twits in California turbinetree Dec 2017 #8
I've been talking about this (to anyone who will listen) for quite a while. BadGimp Dec 2017 #23
thank you for this. triron Dec 2017 #29
BadGimp's on to something here... farmbo Dec 2017 #40
All I can say is too bad they arent Democrats, both parties would impeach and indict Eliot Rosewater Dec 2017 #34
Russian psyop still using social media to DIVIDE Democrats Bernardo de La Paz Dec 2017 #5
Sorry, Franken was a 100% self inflicted wound Cosmocat Dec 2017 #13
Wrong. The divisiveness was exacerbated beyond what would ordinarily have happened. Bernardo de La Paz Dec 2017 #14
bullshit.... stonecutter357 Dec 2017 #20
BS in your opinon Achilleaze Dec 2017 #25
I believe that LeeAnn Tweeden did her #Metoo just to throw dirt on Franken Maraya1969 Dec 2017 #41
and alive and well here as well... getagrip_already Dec 2017 #31
You're right about that ornotna Dec 2017 #38
Republicans are in this up to their eyeballs mountain grammy Dec 2017 #6
You are so right -- RandomAccess Dec 2017 #18
Thanks mountain grammy Dec 2017 #26
The Untouchables. tavernier Dec 2017 #43
Yeah no kidding mountain grammy Dec 2017 #47
Another guess.....Kushner meets Russian ambassador. Ambassador talks Enoki33 Dec 2017 #7
I'd be interested in seeing data correlating repubs who received big money from Russia..... groundloop Dec 2017 #9
I hope Mueller's team interviews Kevin McCarthy WhiteTara Dec 2017 #33
I hope he brings the entire network of criminals down WhiteTara Dec 2017 #10
Both Ryan and McConnell were in on it or knew about it too. Botany Dec 2017 #11
They took millions of dollars from the Russians WhiteTara Dec 2017 #16
The New Yorker: Paul Ryan, Whats said in the family stays in the family." Botany Dec 2017 #17
It's time to take out the trash, starting with the putrid bag of GOP leadership. -nt CrispyQ Dec 2017 #12
This trail will lead to Bannon (and Cambridge Analyticia). Volaris Dec 2017 #15
I wonder if the Mercers acted as the cutout between Putin and the campaign. hedda_foil Dec 2017 #30
Golden rule for lawyers, never ask a question that you dont already know the answer. Mueller will Pepsidog Dec 2017 #19
trump guy sam nunberg said he listened to 1000s of hours of talk radio for trump election prep certainot Dec 2017 #21
The suspense is killing me. Nitram Dec 2017 #22
The GOP betrayed America then Achilleaze Dec 2017 #24
Exactly, the GOP is trying to undermine or eliminate American democracy. The GOP of today RKP5637 Dec 2017 #27
K&R Scurrilous Dec 2017 #28
How did the russians know not fooled Dec 2017 #32
Republicans and the Trump campaign can't be surprised by this bucolic_frolic Dec 2017 #35
Louise Mensch zeroed in on Trump's data operation's connection with Russia months ago. pnwmom Dec 2017 #36
Post removed Post removed Dec 2017 #42
Pretty darn conspiracy centric first post. Are you thinking Jill Stein? marble falls Dec 2017 #44
It would only enhance the credibility of the Mueller probe bucolic_frolic Dec 2017 #46
This liberal has no fear Cary Dec 2017 #49
In case you don't get to reply - bye bye. marble falls Dec 2017 #48
 

SHRED

(28,136 posts)
1. Just a guess here but...
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 12:40 PM
Dec 2017

Mueller is probably a lot further along and knows many answers prior to questioning staffers.

 

OliverQ

(3,363 posts)
37. That seems to be his MO. He knows the facts and then questions
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 10:13 PM
Dec 2017

people to see if they lie about what he already knows.

 

SHRED

(28,136 posts)
39. No wonder FAUX is freaking.
Thu Dec 28, 2017, 12:21 AM
Dec 2017

I think they're an extension of the Kremlin based on havung the same goals to discredit our FBI.

Botany

(70,288 posts)
2. I hope Bob and his team are after Cambridge Analytica and the Mercers too.
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 12:46 PM
Dec 2017

I wonder if the NSA/CIA/FBI were able to monitor the traffic from Russia/Ukraine to
the server Trump had in his HQ?

Iliyah

(25,111 posts)
4. Maybe thats why GOPers, like Nunes & Gowdy are not
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 12:51 PM
Dec 2017

Last edited Wed Dec 27, 2017, 01:47 PM - Edit history (1)

doing their jobs and why Grassley, etc. are freaking the hell out. Many GOPers relied on Russia to win elections.

turbinetree

(24,632 posts)
8. I mean the dots are getting connected so to speak, then you have those two twits in California
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 01:04 PM
Dec 2017

McCarthy and Rohrabacher should be added to the list, and this goes right to the feet of the speakers of this criminal congress's feet McTurtle and Eddie Munster------------they have to approve of these shenanigans.

Haven't heard one iota from those two saying hey "guys" and gals" don't go around mentioning "purges"----------------

And Lawrence O'Donnell was right, when one night he said, nothing gets done or said without the leadership of the caucus, they have to know, that's why its called the Speaker of the House and the Senate


I see a train a coming and it's rolling down the track......................


BadGimp

(4,009 posts)
23. I've been talking about this (to anyone who will listen) for quite a while.
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 02:31 PM
Dec 2017

(my points have been covered but I really want to be a part of this convo)

Any data effort leaves a significant trail of discoverable digital footprints for a smart investigative team to explore. My contention is that Kushner as head of the campaigns Digital Efforts along w Bannon and the Mercers/Cambridge Analytica shared data with the Russians and visa-versa and this was key to the social media influence effort the Russians engaged in. If it can be shown that the campaign did this then it's ball game over. Remember the server in Trump Tower that only talked to a server at Alpha Bank in Russia before the election??

Keep in mind that Bannon worked for the campaign's data contractor, Cambridge Analytica AKA the Mercer family.

I have a sense this could be the wellspring that shows how treasonous the campaign was. If in fact, it was of course...

Pass The Popcorn.

farmbo

(3,120 posts)
40. BadGimp's on to something here...
Thu Dec 28, 2017, 01:21 AM
Dec 2017

Those mysterious data transmissions from the server in Trump tower to the Kremlin- connected Alpha Bank, likely constituted Mercer's voter targeting metadata. Once it was placed in Russia's hands it was fed out to Putin's Bott armies' which saturated swing voters FaceBook and Twitter feeds with fake news for the rest of the campaign.

Eliot Rosewater

(31,097 posts)
34. All I can say is too bad they arent Democrats, both parties would impeach and indict
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 07:13 PM
Dec 2017

instantly and we could save our country from the KGB.


GOP are not patriots, sorry.

Bernardo de La Paz

(48,786 posts)
5. Russian psyop still using social media to DIVIDE Democrats
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 12:56 PM
Dec 2017

Hence the divisiveness over Al Franken and other recent issues.

Ex-FBI agent warns that Russia hasn't stopped cyber attacks and the US is doing nothing about it
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141947898

Bernardo de La Paz

(48,786 posts)
14. Wrong. The divisiveness was exacerbated beyond what would ordinarily have happened.
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 01:36 PM
Dec 2017

Pushing him to resign or not is not the topic here. The divisiveness surrounding is the issue.

Putin plants and feeds chaos in the West and in his opposition.

Maraya1969

(22,441 posts)
41. I believe that LeeAnn Tweeden did her #Metoo just to throw dirt on Franken
Thu Dec 28, 2017, 02:57 AM
Dec 2017

Too many things that don't make sense.

getagrip_already

(14,237 posts)
31. and alive and well here as well...
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 03:50 PM
Dec 2017

there are likely russian bots posting here arguing both sides of issues, just to split the activists apart. It worked well with stein and bernie's crowd.

mountain grammy

(26,568 posts)
6. Republicans are in this up to their eyeballs
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 12:57 PM
Dec 2017

Just watch the motherfuckers shut it down. They’re all trump now.

tavernier

(12,322 posts)
43. The Untouchables.
Thu Dec 28, 2017, 09:33 AM
Dec 2017

I’m remembering the scene in the film where they all have been tainted and corrupted, even the judge. It’s starting to look like the same thing has happened here.

Enoki33

(1,584 posts)
7. Another guess.....Kushner meets Russian ambassador. Ambassador talks
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 12:57 PM
Dec 2017

with CEO of sanctioned Russian bank. Kushner meets head of sanctioned bank. Reason.. refinancing of troubled 666 building. Problem... first sanctions have to be lifted.
Note..CEO of Russian bank is a graduate of FSB spy college, and Ambassador is a known spy recruiter.

groundloop

(11,487 posts)
9. I'd be interested in seeing data correlating repubs who received big money from Russia.....
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 01:05 PM
Dec 2017

and which repubs are suddenly pushing back hard against the Mueller investigation.

I remember reading here that prior to approximately 2015 or so Russian linked donations were relatively small and more or less evenly split between both parties, then all of a sudden Russian donations got much bitter and went exclusively to repubs. I'd be very interested in seeing a list of which repubs received those Russian donations and compare that to the list of repubs who are trying their damnedest to discredit the Mueller investigation, the FBI, etc. Somehow I have a feeling there's a link.

WhiteTara

(29,676 posts)
33. I hope Mueller's team interviews Kevin McCarthy
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 06:40 PM
Dec 2017

so he can explain the comment about Rohrbacher being on the Russian payroll along with Trump. Then I want them to interview Ryan so he can explain where he got all his pac money.

WhiteTara

(29,676 posts)
10. I hope he brings the entire network of criminals down
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 01:07 PM
Dec 2017

If anyone has the team to do this, it is Mueller. He got the best attorneys for catching international criminals.

WhiteTara

(29,676 posts)
16. They took millions of dollars from the Russians
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 01:41 PM
Dec 2017

and then distributed it all through the Republicon Party. Every one of them are dirty.

Botany

(70,288 posts)
17. The New Yorker: Paul Ryan, Whats said in the family stays in the family."
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 01:47 PM
Dec 2017

Paul Ryan Keeps It All in the Family

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/paul-ryan-keeps-it-family-kevin-mccarthy-russia-trump

“There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy said, according to Entous, a superb reporter who heard a tape recording of the colloquy. “Swear to God.

snip

In the Post piece, McCarthy’s remark is met with laughter, and Ryan cautions his colleagues, “This is an off the record . . . No leaks! . . . All right?”

And then, amid more laughter, Ryan says, “This is how we know we’re a real family here.”

“That’s how you know that we’re tight,” Steve Scalise, the House Majority Whip, says.



*********

And how did McConnell know that by blocking Garland for the SCOTUS he would get
somebody he liked better after the election?

hedda_foil

(16,368 posts)
30. I wonder if the Mercers acted as the cutout between Putin and the campaign.
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 03:12 PM
Dec 2017

Mega wealthy hedge fund tycoon moves lots of money around every day. Could they be laundering Russian money through their fund and into the hands of the campaign? That could cut the Gordian knot that seems to separate the two major influencers of the Trump side of the campaign... the Russians and the Mercers (as representative policy-wise of the big money libertarian donor base)? .

Pepsidog

(6,252 posts)
19. Golden rule for lawyers, never ask a question that you dont already know the answer. Mueller will
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 01:49 PM
Dec 2017

Last edited Sat Dec 30, 2017, 01:36 PM - Edit history (1)

walk these idiots into a perjury trap. Trump’s band of slimy, low life sycophants have no chance against Mueller’s team of experienced federal prosecutors. Trump is so stupendously stupid as to make enemies of our intelligence gathering institutions who will happily turn over the evidence to rid our country of these traitors. The only question is, will Mueller take down the republicans who were accomplices to Trump’s crimes and/or will the republicans white-wash Mueller’s investigation and cover up their criminal enterprise and not act at all. If they cover up, then I hope Schneiderman takes down the whole bunch and end our long national nightmare that is the Trump presidency. I thought Bush was bad, but these people are professional liars, sneaks, cheats and criminals.

 

certainot

(9,090 posts)
21. trump guy sam nunberg said he listened to 1000s of hours of talk radio for trump election prep
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 01:54 PM
Dec 2017

in 2014 - (gabriel sherman, new york magazine 4/3/2016)

putin>talk radio>fox>trump ---- there's no need for traceable communication/coordination

that's how they won the primaries and kept going. limbaugh is still his most important ally, attacking critics and mueller.

investigators should be keeping eyes out for evidence russians have been using talk radio for years, maybe even since rove lost central control in 2007- 8.

all the russinas had to do is figure out how to feed the talk radio gods once in a while, and it looked like most of the social media trolling was based on well established anti liberal/hillary crap going back years. fox sumarizes the daily talk radio buzz for busy guys like trump and limbaugh's goals are the same as putin's - oligarchy, authoritarianism, global warming denial, etc.

putin>talk radio>fox>trump

Nitram

(22,671 posts)
22. The suspense is killing me.
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 02:24 PM
Dec 2017

I' worried Trump to fire Mueller anytime now, and the GOP will back him up. Their campaign against "FBI bias and corruption" was obviously planned to provide cover for stopping the investigation.

RKP5637

(67,030 posts)
27. Exactly, the GOP is trying to undermine or eliminate American democracy. The GOP of today
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 02:45 PM
Dec 2017

is not the GOP, it needs to be renamed. Far too many people in America IMO think they're voting for granddad's GOP of decades past. These are dangerous times and so many Americans are so damn stupid about what is going on. I don't know what it will take to wake them up.

not fooled

(5,791 posts)
32. How did the russians know
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 05:36 PM
Dec 2017

precisely which states and districts to target? Obviously there would have been tremendous advantage in working with the pukes because of the latter's detailed knowledge of the US electoral map.


bucolic_frolic

(42,663 posts)
35. Republicans and the Trump campaign can't be surprised by this
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 08:55 PM
Dec 2017

if they've nothing to hide, why is there so much smoke and so many denials and denunciations of the FBI?

pnwmom

(108,925 posts)
36. Louise Mensch zeroed in on Trump's data operation's connection with Russia months ago.
Wed Dec 27, 2017, 09:28 PM
Dec 2017

I'm glad to hear that Mueller is pursuing this.

Response to MelissaB (Original post)

bucolic_frolic

(42,663 posts)
46. It would only enhance the credibility of the Mueller probe
Thu Dec 28, 2017, 11:10 AM
Dec 2017

To be sure, if foreign cash were splashing through our election process over several cycles and front groups
were contributing to campaigns, some made it to some unexpected places, and some might be on the opposite
side of the (expected) political aisle.

Otherwise you can take your anxieties back to their source. Democrats have little fear here. They have had to run
a pretty disciplined operation for a long time because of the hysteria in right wing media.




Note: the REAL Winston Churchill

Cary

(11,746 posts)
49. This liberal has no fear
Thu Dec 28, 2017, 01:48 PM
Dec 2017

"Both sides do it" is "conservative" bullshit, spewed by small-minded, regressive people who fear fear itself.

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