Senate: Obama officials hamstrung by Russia election attack

The Associated Press ^ | February 6, 2020 | By MARY CLARE JALONICK and CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY

[Oldeconomybuyer]

The Obama administration was ill-prepared to handle and failed to respond effectively to Russian interference during the 2016 election, according to a bipartisan congressional report released Thursday. It noted officials feared getting caught up in a heavily politicized environment and undermining public confidence in the electoral process.

The Senate Intelligence Committee’s report said the U.S. government was “not well-postured” to counter Russian election interference, adding Russia’s cyberactivities did not cease despite high-level warnings of potential retaliation.

Sen. Richard Burr, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the report found the Obama administration in 2016 struggled to determine an appropriate response as it became aware of Russian activities.

“Frozen by ‘paralysis of analysis,’ hamstrung by constraints both real and perceived, Obama officials debated courses of action without truly taking one,” said Burr, a North Carolina Republican, noting many of their concerns were valid. “However, Obama officials made decisions that limited their options, including preventing internal information-sharing and siloing cyber and geopolitical threats.”

The committee noted most Obama administration officials interviewed in the investigation said they had first learned about the Russian operation to steal emails from the Democratic National Committee from the media. The initial reaction of administration officials and members of the intelligence community was that Russia’s activity “fell within the bounds of traditional espionage” and was not understood at that point to be part of a broader campaign, according to the report.

Five GOP senators on the panel wrote in an addendum that the report “exposes in great detail the Obama administration’s inept response to Russia’s persistent and complex campaign to influence and interfere in the most recent U.S. presidential election.” They wrote that concerns about undermining confidence in the election “do not excuse the administration’s failures.”

[MAGAthon]

what a load of BS. and Republicans signed on to it? unbelievable.

[freepersup]

State Department paid $10 million to set up server in Kiev, Ukraine

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