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Russia Tag

Speaking at a tech conference in California this week, Hillary Clinton launched into another diatribe about the forces which conspired against her in the 2016 election. In the process, she referred to her very real email scandal as a "nothing burger." Douglas Ernst writes at the Washington Times:
Hillary Clinton says email server scandal ‘biggest nothing-burger’ of 2016 election Hillary Clinton says her secret email server scandal was the “biggest nothing-burger” of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

A large-scale ransomware attack, WannaCry, that infected computers all over the world left governments, health care institutions, and companies reeling. Britain's National Health Service was infected, resulting in the temporary closure of some emergency rooms. Ransomware infects a computer, locking users out of certain applications or files until a ransom is paid. PC casualties were expected to rise today as workers return to work to find WannaCry infecting their work PCs.

Following revelations that Susan Rice sought the unmasking of Americans purportedly caught up in incidental surveillance, Rice is on Congress' short list of persons to testify on Russian hacking.  She has, through her attorney, declined Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)'s request to do so. CNN reports:
Obama's former national security adviser, on Wednesday declined Sen. Lindsey Graham's request to participate in a judiciary subcommittee hearing next week on Russian interference in the US election, CNN has learned.

Democrats have been running around for months crafting an anti-Trump narrative about the threat Russia presents to our democracy. Now, there is real reason to be concerned about Russia's actions. Russia has built an expansive new military base in the Arctic. The Business Insider reports:
Russia unveils its newest Arctic base Russia has unveiled a new military base as part of its buildup in the Arctic region, and has provided a tour — albeit a virtual one on your computer. According to a report from FoxNews.com, the base is located on Franz Josef Land — an archipelago north of Novaya Zemlya that the Soviet Union seized from Norway in 1926 — and is known as the “Arctic Trefoil” due to its tricorne shape.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and top Democrat Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) have announced that the committee could not find evidence that President Donald Trump's former National Security adviser Michael Flymm reported payments for his foreign work. Chaffetz and Cummings reviewed classified military documents, which showed them that "Flynn did not ask permission or inform the government about payments he got for appearances before Russian organizations and for lobbying that helped Turkey's government.

The Treasury Department has rejected a request from ExxonMobil to waive Russian sanctions in order for the oil company to drill with PAO Rosneft. The department received sanctions years ago after Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea. ExxonMobil, which Secretary of State Rex Tillerson headed, had made plans with Rosneft to drill in the Black Sea and the Arctic Circle for oil and natural gas.

The House Intelligence Committee has invited some former President Barack Obama's administration officials to testify in a closed hearing over the panel's investigation into possible Russian interference in our presidential election. The committee included former acting Attorney General Sally Yates who President Donald Trump fired when she instructed Department of Justice "lawyers not to make legal arguments defending" Trump's executive order on immigration back in January.

As tension rise between America and North Korea, it appears that Russian state TV has decided to side with dictator Kim Jong Un. According to Bloomberg, the Kremlin's top TV guy Dmitry Kiselyov made this proclamation after calling President Donald Trump "just the kind of leader the world needed" a few weeks ago. Bloomberg reported:
In the latest sign of the Kremlin’s abrupt about-face on its erstwhile American hero, Kiselyov pronounced Trump “more dangerous” than his North Korean counterpart. “Trump is more impulsive and unpredictable than Kim Jong Un,” he told viewers of his prime-time Sunday “Vesti Nedelyi” program, which earlier this year carried paeans to Trump for his pledge to warm up relations with Russia.