The FBI investigation, Crossfire Hurricane, focused on the narrow issue of personal connections between the Trump campaign and Russians. It missed Russia's cyber attacks and the social media campaign, which, according to Kathleen Hall Jamieson, won the election for Trump. 9/20
Once the issue of Russian soft control was framed narrowly as personal contact, Obama missed the big picture, and Trump had an easy defense. Trump knew that Russia was working for him, but the standard of guilt was placed so high that he could defend himself. 10/20
It is entirely inconceivable that McGonigal was unaware of Russia's 2016 cyber influence campaign on behalf of Trump. Even I was aware of it, and I had no expertise. It became one of the subjects of my book #RoadtoUnfreedom. 11/20
The FBI did investigate cyber later, and came to some correct conclusions. But this was after the election, and missed the Russian influence operations entirely. That was an obvious counterintelligence issue. Why did the FBI take so long, and miss the point? 12/20
I had no personal connection to this, but will just repeat what informed people said at the time: this sort of thing was supposed to go through the FBI counter-intelligence section in New York, where tips went to die. That is where McGonigal was in charge. 13/20
The cyber element is what McGonigal should have been making everyone aware of in 2016. In 2016, McGonigal was chief of the FBI's Cyber-Counterintelligence Coordination Section. That October, he was put in charge of the Counterintelligence Division of the FBI's NY office. 14/20
We need to understand why the FBI failed in 2016 to address the essence of an ongoing Russian influence operation. The character of that operation suggests that it would have been the responsibility of an FBI section whose head is now accused of taking Russian money. 15/20
Right after the McGonigal story broke, Kevin McCarthy ejected Adam Schiff from the House intelligence committee. Schiff is expert on Russian influence operations. It exhibits carelessness about national security to exclude him. It is downright suspicious to exclude him now. 16/20
Back in June 2016, Kevin McCarthy expressed his suspicion that Donald Trump was under Putin's influence. He and other Republican members concluded that the risk of an embarrassment to their party was more important than American security. #RoadToUnfreedom, p. 255. 17/20
The Russian influence operation to get Trump elected was real. It serves no one to pretend otherwise. We are still learning about it. Denying that it happened makes the United States vulnerable to ongoing Russian operations. 18/20
I remember a certain frivolity from 2016. Trump was a curiosity. Russia was irrelevant. Nothing to take seriously. Then Trump was elected, blocked weapon sales to Ukraine, and tried to stage a coup. Now Ukrainians are dying every day in the defining conflict of our time. 19/20
The McGonigal question goes even beyond these issues. He had authority in the most sensitive possible investigations within U.S. intelligence. Sorting this out will require a concern for the United States that goes beyond party loyalty. 20/20
@TimothyDSnyder This disappeared from my pinned tweet after April 2016 and $nopes denying it immediately, I knew then that something bigger was behind Trump. I saw that interview during daytime TV not sure when 19?? I remember! x.com/tom96676/statu…
@TimothyDSnyder This disappeared from my pinned tweet after April 2016 and $nopes denying it immediately, I knew then that something bigger was behind Trump. I saw that interview during daytime TV not sure when 19?? I remember! x.com/tom96676/statu…
@TimothyDSnyder I'm stunned that few people have mentioned what might be behind Trump/Putin. Putin, Manafort and Trump's deal to hand Ukraine to Putin: nytimes.com/2022/11/02/mag…
@TimothyDSnyder I almost couldn't get out of bed for 3 days after Trump was elected because I knew it would be a detrimental horror show for the US. I didn't know how much it would hurt democracy in general or Ukraine though.
@TimothyDSnyder Trump and Putin had a deal. Putin was going to help Trump win in 2020. But one thing got in the way, the pandemic. Hard to fuck with paper ballots. The plan was Trump would pull us from NATO, Putin would invade Ukraine and the U.S. would step to one side and let it happen.
@TimothyDSnyder Let’s also not forget Trump’s doublecross of the Kurds, Pompeo’s ridiculous deal w released 5000 Taliban in Afghanistan and more egregious decisions.
@TimothyDSnyder With all due respect, #HillaryWarnedUs in 2016 and many of us heeded her warning. Frivolity would not at all describe the mood - it was more like a gathering storm of fascism.
@TimothyDSnyder Trump goon JD Gordon at RNC platform committee meeting in 2016 browbeating them to change the Ukraine language to help Putin. It was the ONLY platform item Trump campaign got involved in. It's why they then had to take me down when I wrote about it. Read my pinned tweet thread.
@TimothyDSnyder And still the DOJ does nothing to Trump and his little enablers in Congress
@TimothyDSnyder When Trump reversed Obama's policy regarding giving weapons to Ukrraine thehill.com/policy/interna…