# McClatchyDC: FBI, 5 other agencies probe possible covert Kremlin aid to Trump **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 19, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511 "2017-01-19T01:32:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/1 "2017-01-19T01:32:22Z")
[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article127231799.html](http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article127231799.html) > [@](#): > > The FBI and five other law enforcement and intelligence agencies have collaborated for months in an investigation into Russian attempts to influence the November election, including whether money from the Kremlin covertly aided President-elect Donald Trump, two people familiar with the matter said. > > The agencies involved in the inquiry are the FBI, the CIA, the National Security Agency, the Justice Department, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and representatives of the director of national intelligence, the sources said. > > Investigators are examining how money may have moved from the Kremlin to covertly help Trump win, the two sources said. One of the allegations involves whether a system for routinely paying thousands of Russian-American pensioners may have been used to pay some email hackers in the United States or to supply money to intermediaries who would then pay the hackers, the two sources said. I’m wondering if Trump can simply shut down the investigations once he’s inaugurated. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/2 "2017-01-19T02:09:30Z")
In theory he can (at least if the AG and agency heads cooperate), but it’d be going against long precedent and cause a huge shitstorm if he did. [Nixon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Night_Massacre) was the last President to try something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/3 "2017-01-19T05:32:05Z")
America seems to take crime and corruption by the president far less seriously than we did in the 1970s. So I don’t know if the fact that it hasn’t been done since then will matter. The question is, if Trump does shut it down can any other group pick up the investigation? Can any state attorney general (like NY) look into it? International CJ agencies who hand it over to INTERPOL and make it hard for Trump to travel? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/4 "2017-01-19T06:25:29Z")
Maybe a state AG could find violations of state election laws? I’m not sure what jurisdiction he’d have over a sitting President or if he could even enforce that jurisdiction. I would think that he could act against any advisors, campaign personnel, etc. that were involved and that Trump wouldn’t have any pardon power over state charges. It would be quite a spectacle to see a family member arrested at Trump Tower, or an extradition attempt against someone in DC. Could we see a physical standoff in Manhattan between Secret Service personnel and local or state police? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/5 "2017-01-19T06:28:06Z")
What state were the hacked servers in? ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/6 "2017-01-19T06:36:38Z")
Every day the news just gets better and better. And now a word from Kellyanne…“listen, this is just an attempt from those who do these things because doing these things is what they do when they are unhappy about these things and want to express how unhappy they are about these things by doing something.” ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/7 "2017-01-19T06:41:24Z")
I see. So this massive investigation into likely covert efforts that the FBI knew about “for months” by Russia to install Trump as President was something Director Comey didn’t feel was important to mention to the American people… but the possibility of an internal email from Hillary Clinton on Anthony Weiner’s computer was something he felt was so urgent he had to mention it (based on nothing, it would seem) just days before the election. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/8 "2017-01-19T08:20:09Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I see. So this massive investigation into likely covert efforts that the FBI knew about “for months” by Russia to install Trump as President was something Director Comey didn’t feel was important to mention to the American people… but the possibility of an internal email from Hillary Clinton on Anthony Weiner’s computer was something he felt was so urgent he had to mention it (based on nothing, it would seem) just days before the election. > > Got it. I just hope that appointment/mistake is WELL remembered into the future. Reaching across the aisle just gets your hand bit. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/9 "2017-01-19T10:17:08Z")
How soon we forget Chinese influence of the Clinton’s and the influence of the freaking Mafia to get JFK elected. Y’all just pissed that the Tammany Hall style corruption happened on the Repub side. Lotsa hypocrites on this board. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/10 "2017-01-19T10:40:16Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > How soon we forget Chinese influence of the Clinton’s and the influence of the freaking Mafia to get JFK elected. Y’all just pissed that the Tammany Hall style corruption happened on the Repub side. Lotsa hypocrites on this board. So you’re saying it’s _OK_ for foreign powers and criminal enterprises to rig the electoral process in favor of Republicans, because someone else did it first? Is that correct? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/11 "2017-01-19T10:42:32Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > So you’re saying it’s _OK_ for foreign powers and criminal enterprises to rig the electoral process, then? Interesting historical subjects. Perhaps you can start your own thread since this one is more about current events. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/12 "2017-01-19T11:19:41Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Interesting historical subjects. Perhaps you can start your own thread since this one is more about current events. Or perhaps **madirscool** , who suggested that “THEY DID IT FIRST!” is a legitimate excuse for electoral fraud, could start one. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/13 "2017-01-19T11:26:07Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > I just hope that appointment/mistake is WELL remembered into the future. Reaching across the aisle just gets your hand bit. Exactly. I see no justification for hiring a republican for any position in government ever again, unless there is literally nobody else who can do their job even half as well. They lacked the judgment needed to not support Donald Trump and his congress; they don’t get to pretend they have the judgment needed to do their jobs. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/14 "2017-01-19T11:37:23Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Or perhaps **madirscool** , who suggested that “THEY DID IT FIRST!” is a legitimate excuse for electoral fraud, could start one. Oops. I intended to quote and respond to **madirscool’s** post, not yours. I’m not sure how I did that. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/15 "2017-01-19T15:36:16Z")
I still don’t get how the idea that any of this was orchestrated to benefit any particular politician or party gained traction. This was clearly and factually an attempt to hack into any servers used by either major US political parties. It indisputably ended up helping Republicans, but only because the hackers were much more successful in gaining access to the servers of the DNC and its operatives. From [Politifact](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/jan/11/donald-trump/trump-says-russians-were-unable-hack-republican-na/): > [@](#): > > He added that the methods used to attack the RNC and DNC systems were similar. The Russian actors used a technique called phishing, meaning the cyber intruders sent emails designed to trick the recipient into clicking a link and giving over his or her email password. > > But Comey said the Russian attackers “got far deeper and wider into” the DNC, though he couldn’t say why they didn’t get into the current RNC system. > > Trump and other Republican leaders say that the hackers were unable to get into the RNC because of the organization’s superior cyber defenses. While this is a plausible claim, we are unable to independently corroborate it. I have previously posted other cites that say the same thing. The quoted article also does not make it clear how paying hackers was designed to benefit anyone in particular. I believe, and the facts indicate, that this was a broad attempt by Russia to undermine US politics in general during a presidential election year. It’s what Russia does. The US does the same. That one party benefited is only due to the fact that the hackers were much more successful in infiltrating the other. Facts that dispute that view are, as always, welcomed. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/16 "2017-01-19T15:44:59Z")
Do you consider the prospect of unraveling sanctions on Moscow to be a trivial motivation? And the selection of Putin’s favorite capitalist, the Prime Minister of Exxon, to be Sec State a mere coincidence? ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/17 "2017-01-19T15:47:46Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Do you consider the prospect of unraveling sanctions on Moscow to be a trivial motivation? And the selection of Putin’s favorite capitalist, the Prime Minister of Exxon, to be Sec State a mere coincidence? Also, the [ONLY](http://www.npr.org/2016/08/06/488876597/how-the-trump-campaign-weakened-the-republican-platform-on-aid-to-ukraine) change that the Trump campaign made to the GOP platform happened to be a Pro Russian one? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/18 "2017-01-19T15:58:26Z")
My understanding was that there is no actual proof, there were no “fingerprints”. One moment the platform “plank” was there, the next, _poof!_ gone! As always, I welcome damning evidence that underscores my presumptions of guilt. [Nerd joke] Planks constant? No, not this time! [/NJ] ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/19 "2017-01-19T15:59:44Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > I still don’t get how the idea that any of this was orchestrated to benefit any particular politician or party gained traction. > … So what was their plan then? To damage each candidate equally? (Darn, too bad we couldn’t get anything on Trump!) What would be the point of that? If that was the plan, then why didn’t they try to hack IRS computers, or Trump’s accountants? ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511/20 "2017-01-19T16:01:34Z")
I am of the opinion that the narrative that “the Russian’s helped Trump win” is already over. The public’s outrage organ has been rubbed raw and there is no more juice to be gleaned on this. The Republican congress is satisfied that a Republican is in the White House, so this will ultimately get no traction with them. The media will try to run with the story to see if it sticks, but Trump will continue to de-legitimize them for it with his schoolyard taunts. The intelligence community will suffer the same fate as the media. I do think that some of the old-guard true-believer spooks will continue to whisper about “what can we do” in the dark, but I would be very surprised to see anything actually happen (and by happen, y’know, I mean HAPPEN). So, final analysis, this story is just another fart in the Trump windstorm. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcclatchydc-fbi-5-other-agencies-probe-possible-covert-kremlin-aid-to-trump/777511.md?page=2)