I have to throw the B.S. Flag on this one.
By definition a covert operation is one that remains untalked about and hence, undiscovered. Successful covert operations are secrets that are carried to one’s grave and never disclosed to any media source.
So how can the supposed Russian activity be the most successful covert operation in history if everyone is yelling about it from multiple directions?
Exactly. They don’t call this alleged operation “covert” because it really was a secret operation. They call it “covert” so they have a ready-made excuse for why they can’t find any evidence to support their claim that it ever happened at all.
Covert is in the intent at the time of the operation.
That’s the beauty of the accusation. The action was covert, so there isn’t evidence of whodunnit, which means the victim can blame whichever agent or agents they choose. As Chertoff observed, standard of proof is an issue, and we can’t be 100% sure our accusation is correct. But we’re plenty sure it was Russia this time, sure enough to make the accusation. And we were right, Russia denied it.
Absolutely correct... “covert” is a code word for we can’t figure out what they did and how they did it. i.e. we’re making it up.