Fake Podesta/Blumenthal email

[CallingAllAngels]

This story is fucked up.

[heat40]

yes. and the majority of people never dig any deeper than what they are told. I hate it.

[ESF]

I was just catching up on Eichenwald and am floored.

This is just too creepy.

[EllieArroway]

I just came here to share the same thing. WTF?

[CallingAllAngels]

Russia meddling in our elections like this is really scary. Where do we go from here? Cold War 2.0? WWIII?

[litebright]

Holy shit. I've got chills. A Kremlin-controlled news source comes up with something demonstrably false, and within what, hours?!?! Donald Trump repeats it. And uses it as another call to "lock her up".

This is like something out of a Cold War spy novel. It's hard to believe that it's real life.

[elleblue]

I knew they'd do something like this, called it back when there were murmurs that some of the emails in the first set that was leaked weren't real. Ugh.

[MrsAxilla]

Woah.

[aurora]

OK, this is terrifying.

Everyone needs to be reading and talking about this.

[aurora]

For those who can't or won't click through:

www.newsweek.com/vladimir-putin-sidney-blumenthal-hillary-clinton-donald-trump-benghazi-sputnik-508635

Updated | I am Sidney Blumenthal. At least, that is what Vladimir Putin—and, somehow, Donald Trump—seem to believe. And that should raise concerns not only about Moscow’s attempts to manipulate this election, but also how Trump came to push Russian disinformation to American voters.

An email from Blumenthal—a confidant of Hillary Clinton and a man, second only to George Soros at the center of conservative conspiracy theories—turned up in the recent document dump by Wikileaks. At a time when American intelligence believes Russian hackers are trying to interfere with the presidential election, records have been fed recently to Wikileaks out of multiple organizations of the Democratic Party, raising concerns that the self-proclaimed whistleblowers group has become a tool of Putin’s government. But now that I have been brought into the whole mess—and transformed into Blumenthal—there is even more proof that this act of cyberwar is not only being orchestrated by the Russians, but that they are really, really dumb.

The evidence emerged thanks to the incompetence of Sputnik, the Russian online news and radio service established by the government controlled news agency, Rossiya Segodnya.

The documents that Wikileaks unloaded recently have been emails out of the account of John Podesta, the chairman of Clinton’s election campaign. Almost as soon as the pilfered documents emerged, Sputnik was all over them and rapidly found (or probably already knew about before the Wikileaks dump) a purportedly incriminating email from Blumenthal.

The email was amazing—it linked Boogie Man Blumenthal, Podesta and the topic of conservative political fevered dreams, Benghazi. This, it seemed, was the smoking gun finally proving Clinton bore total responsibility for the terrorist attack on the American outpost in Libya in 2012. Sputnik even declared that the email might be the “October surprise” that could undermine Clinton’s campaign.

To understand the full importance of the story—and how much Putin and his Kremlin cronies must have been dancing with delight—I have to quote the top few paragraphs:

In a major revelation from the second batch of WikiLeaks emails from Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta it was learned that Hillary's top confidante Sidney Blumenthal believed that the investigation into Benghazi was legitimate because it was "preventable" and the result of State Department negligence.

In an email titled "The Truth" from Hillary's top confidante Sidney Blumenthal, the adviser writing to undisclosed recipients said that "one important point that has been universally acknowledged by nine previous reports about Benghazi: The attack was almost certainly preventable" in what may turn out to be the big October surprise from the WikiLeaks released of emails hacked from the account of Clinton Campaign Chair John Podesta.

Then came the money quote: "Clinton was in charge of the State Department, and it failed to protect U.S. personnel at an American consulate in Libya. If the GOP wants to raise that as a talking point against her, it is legitimate," said Blumenthal, putting to rest the Democratic Party talking point that the investigation into Clinton's management of the State Department at the time of the attack was nothing more than a partisan witch hunt.

Those words sounded really, really familiar. Really familiar. Like, so familiar they struck me as something I wrote. Because they were something I wrote.

The Russians were quoting two sentences from a 10,000 word piece I wrote for Newsweek, which Blumenthal had emailed to Podesta. There was no mistaking that Blumenthal was citing Newsweek—the magazine’s name and citations for photographs appeared throughout the attached article. The Russians had carefully selected the “of course” paragraph, which mentions there were legitimate points of criticism regarding Clinton and Benghazi, all of which had been acknowledged in nine reports about the terror attack and by the former Secretary of State herself. But that was hardly the point of the story, “Benghazi Biopsy: A Comprehensive Guide to One of America’s Worst Political Outrages.” The piece is about the obscene politicization of the assault that killed four Americans, and the article slammed the Republican Benghazi committee which was engaged in a political show trial disguised as a Congressional investigation—the tenth inquiry into the tragedy.

Here is the real summation of my article, which the Russians failed to quote: “The historical significance of this moment can hardly be overstated, and it seems many Republicans, Democrats and members of the media don’t fully understand the magnitude of what is taking place. The awesome power of government—one that allows officials to pore through almost anything they demand and compel anyone to talk or suffer the shame of taking the Fifth Amendment—has been unleashed for purely political purposes. It is impossible to review what the Benghazi committee has done as anything other than taxpayer-funded political research of the opposing party’s leading candidate for president. Comparisons from America’s past are rare. Richard Nixon’s attempts to use the IRS to investigate his perceived enemies come to mind. So does Senator Joseph McCarthy’s red-baiting during the 1950s, with reckless accusations of treason leveled at members of the State Department, military generals and even the secretary of the Army…The consequences, however, are worse than the manipulation of the electoral process. By using Benghazi for political advantage, the Republicans have communicated to global militants that, through even limited attacks involving relatively few casualties, they can potentially influence the direction of American elections.”

Of course, this might be seen as just an opportunity to laugh at the incompetence of the Russian hackers and government press—once they realized their error, Sputnik took the article down. But then things got even more bizarre.

This false story was only reported by the Russian controlled agency (a reference appeared in a Turkish publication, but it was nothing but a link to the Sputnik article). So how did Donald Trump end up advancing the same falsehood put out by Putin’s mouthpiece?

At a rally in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, Trump spoke while holding a document in his hand. He told the assembled crowd that it was an email from Blumenthal, whom he called “sleazy Sidney.”

“This just came out a little while ago,’’ Trump said. “I have to tell you this.” And then he read the words from my article.

“He’s now admitting they could have done something about Benghazi,’’ Trump said, dropping the document to the floor. “This just came out a little while ago.”

The crowd booed and chanted, “Lock her up!”

This is not funny. It is terrifying. The Russians engage in a sloppy disinformation effort and, before the day is out, the Republican nominee for president is standing on a stage reciting the manufactured story as truth. How did this happen? Who in the Trump campaign was feeding him falsehoods straight from the Kremlin? (The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment).

The Russians have been obtaining American emails and now are presenting complete misrepresentations of them—falsifying them—in hopes of setting off a cascade of events that might change the outcome of the presidential election. The big question, of course, is why are the Russians working so hard to damage Clinton and, in the process, aid Donald Trump? That is a topic for another time.

For now, though, Americans should be outraged. This totalitarian regime, engaged in what are arguably war crimes in Syria to protect their government puppet, is working to upend a democracy to the benefit of an American candidate who uttered positive comments just Sunday about the Kremlin's campaign on behalf of Bashar al-Assad. Trump’s arguments were an incomprehensible explication of the complex Syrian situation, which put him right on the side of the Iranians and Syrian,s who are fighting to preserve the government that is the primary conduit of weapons used against Israel.

So no, Mr. Putin, I’m not Sidney Blumenthal. And now that you have been exposed once again, get the hell out of our election. And Mr. Trump—you have some explaining to do.

[ESF]

So I was trying to explain to my husband and then realized I'm missing a fact or two.

He suggests the only way Trump could have gotten the doctored email is from the Russians directly. But how did he get it? Because it sounds like he learned that Trump was talking about it after he (Eichenwald) had learned of the email and maybe even published the piece about it.

Can anyone fill in what I'm missing? Is it possible Trump got it from the same place Eichenwald did?

[mryrcn]

I told y'all that every damn thing is Putin's fault. That man is the fucking devil.

[MrsAxilla]

Oct 10, 2016 23:14:06 GMT -5 ESF said:

So I was trying to explain to my husband and then realized I'm missing a fact or two.

He suggests the only way Trump could have gotten the doctored email is from the Russians directly. But how did he get it? Because it sounds like he learned that Trump was talking about it after he (Eichenwald) had learned of the email and maybe even published the piece about it.

Can anyone fill in what I'm missing? Is it possible Trump got it from the same place Eichenwald did?

Nah.  DH says breitbart and infowars and their deplorables are always trolling Russian media.  Some mouthbreather probably picked it up and tweeted him.

[satsuma]

Oct 10, 2016 23:14:06 GMT -5 ESF said:

So I was trying to explain to my husband and then realized I'm missing a fact or two.

He suggests the only way Trump could have gotten the doctored email is from the Russians directly. But how did he get it? Because it sounds like he learned that Trump was talking about it after he (Eichenwald) had learned of the email and maybe even published the piece about it.

Can anyone fill in what I'm missing? Is it possible Trump got it from the same place Eichenwald did?

Eichenwald is certainly implying on Twitter that Trump was fed the story by Russia. In response, people are pointing out that Trump mentioned Blumenthal when he brought up Benghazi at the debate, as if he were expecting this story to emerge.  

[gretchenindisguise]

Holy. Shit.

[elleblue]

Oct 11, 2016 1:02:05 GMT -5 satsuma said:

Oct 10, 2016 23:14:06 GMT -5 ESF said:

So I was trying to explain to my husband and then realized I'm missing a fact or two.

He suggests the only way Trump could have gotten the doctored email is from the Russians directly. But how did he get it? Because it sounds like he learned that Trump was talking about it after he (Eichenwald) had learned of the email and maybe even published the piece about it.

Can anyone fill in what I'm missing? Is it possible Trump got it from the same place Eichenwald did?

Eichenwald is certainly implying on Twitter that Trump was fed the story by Russia. In response, people are pointing out that Trump mentioned Blumenthal when he brought up Benghazi at the debate, as if he were expecting this story to emerge.  

Wow, I didn't even make that connection. Jfc. 

[earlgreyhot]

Oct 10, 2016 23:22:41 GMT -5 MrsAxilla said:

Oct 10, 2016 23:14:06 GMT -5 ESF said:

So I was trying to explain to my husband and then realized I'm missing a fact or two.

He suggests the only way Trump could have gotten the doctored email is from the Russians directly. But how did he get it? Because it sounds like he learned that Trump was talking about it after he (Eichenwald) had learned of the email and maybe even published the piece about it.

Can anyone fill in what I'm missing? Is it possible Trump got it from the same place Eichenwald did?

Nah.  DH says breitbart and infowars and their deplorables are always trolling Russian media.  Some mouthbreather probably picked it up and tweeted him.

This makes sense.

I read KE's article and was confused how Trump having the info was a smoking gunned Russia feeding him info.

Still scary that Trump and his supporters shows such a disregard for the actual truth. Like, really, really scary.

[WanderingWinoZ]

we talked about this a little earlier in anothre thread, but just figured it was fake.

this whole thing is disturbing, but didn't we totally call it- fake/planted info?? also RUSSIA! but really, if they were going to fabricate stuff, I figured they'd do a better job & be more believable??

[isabel]

So Trump is knowingly going around spreading blatantly false information that was created by the Kremlin? (It's early, cut me some slack.) How can this be real life? What the hell is going on!?

[darnkatz]

This is fucked up. I am thoroughly convinced we are being punk'd. Please let Ashton Kutcher show up.

[partiallysunny]

😨

[wakka]

And when people say DT is dangerous, this is what they mean. This misinformation is going to live forever.

[JLV]

This is terrifying. I also don't doubt for one damn second that he isn't getting this information directly from Russia.

[bex]

All right I am also confused.

So, the leaked email contains the link/copy of Eichenwald's story, right? so no smoking gun. And that was leaked by Wikileaks. Sputnik picked it up and wrote a story about that email, misinterpreting who was saying what, and thinking that it was Blumenthal saying that the investigation or the talking point of Benghazi was legitimate, when it was Eichenwald saying that in the midst of a bigger article criticizing the Rs.

so then Trump was citing the Sputnik article, and the false story, which is weird because no other news service picked it up, it was just something in Sputnik?



But then how did Eichenwald see it? did he see it before or after the Trump rally? Did he hear what Trump was saying and that is what made him go, "hmmm?"

I think it's a pretty bad story, obviously, and pretty horrifying that Russia is so clearly out to influence this election. but I'm not sure how Trump having the Sputnik story means he is in bed with Russia, because clearly others had access to it as well.

I feel like I'm missing a step here somewhere.

[CallingAllAngels]

Eichenwald says someone sent the story to him that saw it in Russian media.

[anlo]

This is terrifying, and infuriating. The things DT has managed to do and get away with in this campaign make my head spin. I know we've said that over and over here, but I just don't know what else to say. It's insanity.

[bowies]

Oct 11, 2016 7:02:51 GMT -5 isabel said:

So Trump is knowingly going around spreading blatantly false information that was created by the Kremlin? (It's early, cut me some slack.) How can this be real life? What the hell is going on!?

He probably didn't know it was false since he has zero critical thinking skills - someone handed it to him and he ran with it because it was something to hit HRC. Whether it ends up being false is none of his concern. Once he believes something he won't ever change his mind. Reference the Central Park 5.

ETA: Trump is a good little puppet. That's why Putin is so keen to get him into office.

[bex]

Oct 11, 2016 7:43:29 GMT -5 CallingAllAngels said:

Eichenwald says someone sent the story to him that saw it in Russian media.

AH okay.

so someone sent it to him, and then presumably someone also had to send it to Trump (whether it was someone on his campaign actively searching Russian media, or someone in the Russian government sent it to him, etc.)

[bex]

lessel yes, that part is really weird and definitely makes it seem like there is a clear connection between Russia and his campaign. because he did bring up Blumenthal at the debate (Which he did at the first one too I guess) but it seemed kind of random. I guess this makes it less random though....

[MrsAxilla]

Oct 11, 2016 8:03:30 GMT -5 lessel said:

Oct 11, 2016 7:47:02 GMT -5 bex said:

AH okay.

so someone sent it to him, and then presumably someone also had to send it to Trump (whether it was someone on his campaign actively searching Russian media, or someone in the Russian government sent it to him, etc.)

Except for the bit where I think Trump alluded to it at the debate before it went public? Is that right?

When I read Eichenwald's piece earlier this morning it seriously gave me chills.

The article says the story was public on Russian media briefly then taken down.