Obama Team Was Warned about Russian Interference in the U.S. 2016 Election and Did Nothing

ONCE AGAIN WE ARE WITNESS TO THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION DOING NOTHING AGAINST A FOREIGN THREAT …

As reported at The Politico, in 2014, the Barack Obama administration got a report of Russia’s intention to disrupt Western democracies, including the United States. So why would the Obama administration act so surprised when Russians did try to disrupt the elections? They knew all along and did nothing. Yet, you will hear from the Obama sycophants and apologists that they did. Hmm, how did that work out? They didn’t seem to want to make waves because Hillary Clinton was going to win. Then, Trump stuns her in the 2016 presidential election and all of the Russian conspiracy and collusion is pointed at him. Yet it was under Obama, that nothing was done to prevent such interference. Where was the transparency in all this? It was just another example of failure during the eight years of Barack Obama.

The Obama administration received multiple warnings from national security officials between 2014 and 2016 that the Kremlin was ramping up its intelligence operations and building disinformation networks it could use to disrupt the U.S. political system, according to more than half a dozen current and former officials.

As early as 2014, the administration received a report that quoted a well-connected Russian source as saying that the Kremlin was building a disinformation arm that could be used to interfere in Western democracies. The report, according to an official familiar with it, included a quote from the Russian source telling U.S. officials in Moscow, “You have no idea how extensive these networks are in Europe … and in the U.S., Russia has penetrated media organizations, lobbying firms, political parties, governments and militaries in all of these places.”

That report was circulated among the National Security Council, intelligence agencies, and the State Department via secure email and cable in the spring of 2014 as part of a larger assessment of Russian intentions in Ukraine, the official said.

There was no explicit warning of a threat to U.S. elections, but the official said some diplomats and national-security officials in Moscow felt the administration was too quick to dismiss the possibility that the Kremlin incursions could reach the United States.

Ned Price, a former spokesperson for the National Security Council, rejected the idea that the administration failed to heed warnings about Russian interference in the U.S. political system or Russian cyberespionage in general.

“The Obama administration was nothing but proactive in responding to Russian aggression in all of its forms, especially as Moscow became more brazen with and following its military moves against Ukraine beginning in 2014,” Price said, citing sanctions and increased American support to NATO as evidence of the former administration’s seriousness.

But subsequent events — including Russia’s interference in the American election through hacks of the emails of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, among other intrusions identified by U.S. intelligence — have left many in the former administration wondering if they could have done more.

“People have criticized us … for not coming out more forcefully and saying it,” former CIA Director John Brennan said at the Aspen National Forum in July. “There was no playbook for this.”

It all goes back to President Obama’s meeting with outgoing Russian President Medevev when he was caught on an open mike stating of his ability to deal with relations between the U.S. and Russia, saying he would have more flexibility after the election. Who was colluding with Russia?