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Then Brennan turned to an even more sensitive issue: Russia’s interference in the American election. Brennan now was aware that at least a year earlier Russian hackers had begun their cyberattack on the Democratic National Committee. We know you’re doing this, Brennan said to the Russian. He pointed out that Americans would be enraged to find out Moscow was seeking to subvert the election and that such an operation could backfire. Brennan warned Bortnikov that if Russia continued this information warfare, there would be a price to pay. He did not specify the consequences. This was the first of several...

Former President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity czar confirmed Wednesday that former national security adviser Susan Rice told him to “stand down” in response to Russian cyber attacks during the 2016 presidential campaign. Michael Daniel, whose official title was “cybersecurity coordinator,” confirmed the stand-down order during a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing held to review the Obama and President Donald Trump’s administrations’ policy response to Russian election interference. Rice’s order to Daniel was first reported in “Russian Roulette,” a book published in March that details Russia’s meddling in the election. In the book, authors Michael Isikoff and David Corn reported that...

[FULL TITLE] [ ‘Stand down!’ Obama’s orders to national security officials who wanted to hit back at election-meddling Putin revealed ] A new book, 'Russian Roulette,' details Donald Trump's business ties in Russia and Russia's efforts to meddle in the presidential election The interference was one of the greatest policy challenges for the outgoing Obama administration Advisors debated the pros and cons of hitting back at Russia, whether to go public with what they knew, and how to get it to stop One risk was fueling the chaos intelligence officials believe Russia was trying to sew Two security advisors prepared...

Michael Daniel confirmed Wednesday that former national security adviser Susan Rice ordered him and his staff to "stand down" in 2016 in regard to Russian attempts to meddle in the 2016 election. Daniel, special assistant to former President Barack Obama and White House cybersecurity coordinator, told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee that quotes attributed to him in the book, Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump, were an "accurate rendering of the conversation" he had with Rice and his staff. Daniel's staff reportedly responded to the order in "disbelief." Over...

WASHINGTON — The Obama White House’s chief cyber official testified Wednesday that proposals he was developing to counter Russia’s attack on the U.S. presidential election were put on a “back burner” after he was ordered to “stand down” his efforts in the summer of 2016. The comments by Michael Daniel, who served as White House “cyber security coordinator” between 2012 and January of last year, provided his first public confirmation of a much-discussed passage in the book, “Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump,” co-written by this reporter and David Corn,...