EXCLUSIVE: "DNC hacker" Guccifer 2.0 was, in fact, an officer of Russia's military intelligence

[MelissaB]

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Lone DNC Hacker’ Guccifer 2.0 Slipped Up and Revealed He Was a Russian Intelligence Officer

Robert Mueller’s team has taken over the investigation of Guccifer 2.0, who communicated with (and was defended by) longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone.

Spencer Ackerman
Kevin Poulsen
03.22.18 7:00 PM ET

Guccifer 2.0, the “lone hacker” who took credit for providing WikiLeaks with stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee, was in fact an officer of Russia’s military intelligence directorate (GRU), The Daily Beast has learned. It’s an attribution that resulted from a fleeting but critical slip-up in GRU tradecraft.

That forensic determination has substantial implications for the criminal probe into potential collusion between President Donald Trump and Russia. The Daily Beast has learned that the special counsel in that investigation, Robert Mueller, has taken over the probe into Guccifer and brought the FBI agents who worked to track the persona onto his team.

While it’s unclear what Mueller plans to do with Guccifer, his last round of indictments charged 13 Russians tied to the Internet Research Agency troll farm with a conspiracy “for the purpose of interfering with the U.S. political and electoral processes, including the presidential election of 2016.” It was Mueller’s first move establishing Russian interference in the election within a criminal context, but it stopped short of directly implicating the Putin regime.

Mueller’s office declined to comment for this story. But the attribution of Guccifer 2.0 as an officer of Russia’s largest foreign intelligence agency would cross the Kremlin threshold—and move the investigation closer to Trump himself.

More: https://www.thedailybeast.com/exclusive-lone-dnc-hacker-guccifer-20-slipped-up-and-revealed-he-was-a-russian-intelligence-officer?via=twitter_page&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true

[MelissaB]

1. snip

Trump’s longtime political adviser Roger Stone admitted being in touch with Guccifer over Twitter’s direct messaging service. And in August 2016, Stone published an article on the pro-Trump-friendly Breitbart News calling on his political opponents to “Stop Blaming Russia” for the hack. “I have some news for Hillary and Democrats—I think I’ve got the real culprit,” he wrote. “It doesn’t seem to be the Russians that hacked the DNC, but instead a hacker who goes by the name of Guccifer 2.0.”

... snip

It turns out there is a powerful reason to connect Guccifer to the GRU.

...snip

“Working off the IP address, U.S. investigators identified Guccifer 2.0 as a particular GRU officer working out of the agency’s headquarters on Grizodubovoy Street in Moscow.”

But on one occasion, The Daily Beast has learned, Guccifer failed to activate the VPN client before logging on. As a result, he left a real, Moscow-based Internet Protocol address in the server logs of an American social media company, according to a source familiar with the government’s Guccifer investigation. Twitter and WordPress were Guccifer 2.0’s favored outlets. Neither company would comment for this story, and Guccifer did not respond to a direct message on Twitter.

[triron]

9. Wow! Great work Melissa!

[Igel]

10. But here's the catch.

Or catches.

It was determined that "Russian military intelligence (General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate or GRU) used the Guccifer 2.0 persona and DCLeaks.com to release US victim data".

1. This is the release of the information. The former claim was that there were hackers in some way affiliated with the GRU but not necessarily in the GRU. To say that those releasing the info were also the hackers requires some confirmation.

2. Numerous people can use numerous computers to access a VPN account. That a single computer was used once doesn't lead to the conclusion that only one person ever used one computer.

In other words, this might not be quite as damning as supposed in the latest revelation from on high (which means the year-old assessment is still where we stand), or it might be denying that there's something more damning (if other VPN users were higher ranking).

[red dog 1]

42. + 1

[rzemanfl]

2. Jesus Christ, I went to the grocery store for a few things, I come back to Bolton and

this? Make the shit show stop!

[MelissaB]

20. Wish I could.

So sorry.

[Eliot Rosewater]

3. These operatives are EVERYWHERE, get my meaning?

[hedda_foil]

4. Of course it was a Russian intelligence officer. Destabilizing the US is an important job.

You can't just trust the unwinding of the post WWII consensus to amateurs.

[ProudLib72]

5. I was told it was some 400lb dude in a NJ basement

I was just so sure of it!

[SummerSnow]

40. Guccifer could be a 400 pound guy who did his work in the basement

[MelissaB]

6. Remember that we have this announcement tomorrow

"Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and other law enforcement officials will hold a press conference Friday, March 23, 2018 for a major cyber law enforcement announcement."

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210397181

[Hermit-The-Prog]

12. thanks for cross linking!

I missed that one in all the mess of today.

[UpInArms]

15. Wonder how nasty the twitter storm will be in the wee hours

👀

[blogslut]

7. kick

[BigmanPigman]

8. Stone had better go down for this.

I hope he sinks like a stone and if not by Mueller than by the Russian mob.

[MelissaB]

16. It may explain why he hasn't been called for an interview with Muller.

Muller may have everything he needs on him already.

[Angry Dragon]

19. Still good to give him the rope

[deurbano]

27. God I hope so. Afraid he's going to die before he pays any price for all the shit he has caused

throughout his loathsome, pathetic, revolting life.

[Stallion]

11. Yet Another Reason: DO NOT CONGRATULATE!!!

[poboy2]

13. Thank you, you are always on it. much appreciated. -nt

[TheSmarterDog]

14. This has been known for at least 1 1/2 yrs - before the 2016 election:

https://medium.com/@thegrugq/evidence-guccifer-2-0-is-russian-intel-55f9f8b3f135

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guccifer_2.0#Identity

[MelissaB]

17. I don't think it had been confirmed by the MSM.

Right?

[TheSmarterDog]

24. Look at the Wikipedia article:

In an October 2016 joint statement, the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence stated:

The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations. The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts. These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process. Such activity is not new to Moscow—the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there. We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.

[HopeAgain]

28. isnt this basically what Nance says in his book?

[TheSmarterDog]

29. Yes. In Sept 2016

2016!!

[Angry Dragon]

18. So many tentacles from Trump to Russia, from Trump to his people, from his

people to Russia. It is like a herd of octopus(sp) and hard to follow all the tentacles.

[TheFrenchRazor]

21. treason isn't a crime!!!!... NOT. nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

26. Double negative. What are you actually claiming?

[annabanana]

31. (Old Valley Girl idiom..)

[Farmer-Rick]

22. Wow, if there was no Putin

There would have been no president Trump

[Ilsa]

23. And they tried to pass off Guccifer as a Romanian, like

the first Guccifer.

I'd like to see Roger Stone tossed into a deep cold lake with a giant stone tied to his stones.

[MelissaB]

25. Reminder: The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC tied to @SpeakerRyan, used the stolen info

The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC tied to @SpeakerRyan, used the stolen info from Guccifer 2.0 in attack ads against Dems.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-alleged-russian-hacker-teamed-up-with-florida-gop-operative-1495724787

Link to tweet

"Nevins also received from Guccifer internal details re congressional districts in KY, PA, TX, VA, & WV. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely tied to Paul Ryan, used the stolen info in attack ads against Dems."
Recall @NancyPelosi Aug 2016 memo to Paul Ryan: NRCC's use of docs stolen by Russians plays into the hands of US' most dangerous adversary...makes the @GOP complicit in aiding RU gov't in its effort to influence US elections. Ryan did not reply.

Link to tweet

[Hassler]

30. What is the sound of a stone being dropped into a barrel?

Roger the Stoner will let us know.

[MelissaB]

33. Get me Roger Stone!

I hope it's tomorrow.

[The Wizard]

37. How long before

Stone finds himself in the cross hairs of a Putin torpedo?

[SidDithers]

32. DU rec...

it's fun to read through some of the Guccifer 2.0 threads from June / July 2016 with this information in mind.

Sid

[ehrnst]

35. Isn't it, tho?

[ehrnst]

34. You mean.... the leaker had motives other than "transparency?"

Get. Out.



Some of us knew this the minute the misrepresentation of what was in those emails started. Some of us considered the source when these emails were presented to smear our candidate and the DNC.

Some of us weren't fooled.

[Nitram]

36. This is a great piece of news!

Another brick in the wall that will enclose Tump.

[Le Gaucher]

38. Do we know who hacked DU?

was it ever reported to police

[FromMissouri]

41. The first major disappointment of election day.

Maybe I missed it, but I haven't seen any results of the investigation about who brought down DU. Anybody have a link?

[triron]

39. Now to connect this to Alex Van der Zwaan?

[red dog 1]

43. K&R...Thanks for posting