President Obama announced the expansion of sanctions against Russia in response to “cyber operations directed against the elections in the United States.” This statement involves a confrontation between the alleged perpetrator, the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, on the one hand, and the Democratic party (his alleged victim), Obama administration (his accuser) and the us intelligence agencies (the police). If this were a court case, it would be called “NCDP, the CIA and Obama against Putin”. However, the whole story took a rather strange turn. This case involved the President-elect Donald trump together with his advisers. And they intervened not on the side of prosecution. In fact, they act as the defenders of Putin. And to justify his client, they arraigned America.
Representatives of trump and Putin’s claim that sanctions against Russia are too rigid. In his numerous interviews key members of the team trump — future press Secretary of the White house Sean Spicer (Sean Spicer) and adviser to trump Kelleen Conway (Kellyanne Conway) — called the sanctions disproportionate. A day after Obama announced the extension of sanctions, trump said that Putin had received “very reasonable”, not responding to it in a similar way.
Trump and his aides also disputed evidence pointing to the guilt of Putin. The future head of administration trump, Chairman of the national Committee of the Republican party the Raines Priebus (Reince Priebus), claims that all the accusations based on unconfirmed data. According to him, the American intelligence Agency to offer the public a controversial history. Spicer argues that the evidence is not conclusive, and warns against hasty conclusions. All members of the team trump complaining that the CIA never presented to Trump evidence to prove the guilt of Putin. However, they are silent about the fact that trump, as President-elect, may be asked to provide this information to him, but does not. “I am sure that he would be able to see the intelligence, if I wanted to, right?” — asked Kate Bolduan (Kate Bolduan) from CNN during an interview Conway on Friday, December 30. Conway changed the subject. (According to Conway, this week, trump finally “agreed” to see the intelligence.)
On the eve of New year, one reporter asked trump why he doubts the validity of accusations of the intelligence community against Russia. “I know a lot about cyber attacks and, in the case of cyber attacks to prove the guilt is extremely difficult. It could be someone else, ‘ said trump. And I also know what you do not know others. So they can’t be completely confident in their conclusions.” This is a very reasonable position, if you want to convince the public that your client is innocent. First, you need to mention that you know some secret information. Secondly, you need to convince the public that allegations of hacking attacks is completely unprovable, as evidenced by your personal experience.
But the best defense is a good offense, and it is doing that now trump and his assistants. They use tactics which are often used in cases of sexual offences: the need to blame the victim that provoked the attack. During the interview, Conway said Bolduan that in this case we are talking about a “hacker attack a foreign state.” Conway immediately said, “we are Talking about hacking into the national Committee of the Democratic party. They have not established a reliable system of protection”. Two days later, Spicer made similar comment regarding the report, the FBI and homeland security about the hacker attacks of the Russians. Spicer said that the report about the “weakness of information-technical support”, not hacker attacks. Then Jonathan Karl (Jonathan Karl) from ABC had to remind Spicer on the title of this report: “Malicious cyberactivity of Russia”.
Trump also questioned the credibility of the police. Since the CIA made a mistake by saying about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, he should not entrust the investigation against Russia, he said. This is not true — it is the trump, not the CIA, is now repeating the Iraq mistake — but it is a very convincing argument. Meanwhile, trump, Spicer and Conway accused the government of bias. They claim that the charges and sanctions against Russia politically motivated, because Obama didn’t complain as long as Hillary is not lost. In several interviews Conway and Spicer accused Obama of that hacker attack he punish Russia more severely than China, which, according to Spicer, points out “political revenge”.
This is a familiar tactic of the resonant trials. It worked in the case of Simpson, William Kennedy Smith and the other defendants. It is not surprising that this tactic uses a team of defenders of Putin. Only weird thing is that this team included future U.S. President and his aides. Trump, apparently, really concerned that the us government ganged up on Putin. “It’s a pretty serious accusation,’ said trump to the new year’s eve, when asked about the charges intelligence agencies to Putin. – I think it is unfair to blame someone if there is no confidence”.
Why trump has decided to defend Putin? What’s the connection? One of the reasons may be money: some combination of debt and business ties with elements of blackmail. But I don’t believe it. There is much more simple explanation: trump is grateful to Putin for his flattering comments and assistance. And trump’s advisers feel a connection with Putin, because — intentionally or not – they were on the same side during the election period. They feel threatened by the same enemies — Obama, Hillary Clinton, Democrats and the CIA. They consider any attack on Putin as attacks on themselves.
I’m not saying that these people have some secret dossier. I just listen to their public statements. Two days before Christmas, trump tweeted: “Today Vladimir Putin said about Hillary and the Democrats: “In my opinion, this is humiliating. Need to know how to lose with dignity.” That’s for sure!” A week later, trump tweeted: “Russian exhibit CNN and NBCNews so stupid — funny to watch for this. They don’t even know!” Call trump made six months ago, Russian hacker “Russia, if you hear me, I hope you will be able to find these 30 thousand e-mails” — was not just a joke. Trump is much closer to Putin than the Democrats and American media.
When Spicer calls sanctions against Russia “political revenge”, that says a lot. In spite of all the objections of Spicer, his statement confirms the fact that Putin dealt a blow to the party of Obama during the election. It also confirms that Spicer sees Obama as a party of the enemy, and not as the American President. All interviews Spicer indicate that any attacks against Putin he perceives as an attack on trump. In an interview This Week Spicer declined to answer questions about the Russian cyber attacks, noting that it is unfair “to force Donald trump to admit certain things. When we start talking about the other side of this, namely, that Hillary Clinton has done to affect the elections? It will be punished in some way?” So Spicer sees elections: trump and Putin — on the one hand, and Clinton on the other. Therefore, from his point of view, it is wrong to punish Putin, not Clinton.
Zeal team trump applies not only to Democrats, but also representatives of intelligence. “We do not protect foreign governments intervening in our elections, said Conway in an interview with Bolduan, waving away the questions about Russia. — However, we do not protect our intelligence interfering in elections after the fact.” Our intelligence interfering in elections? After the fact? What does it mean? Is Conway perceives the investigation continued field of elections as a threat to democracy? Or she sees them as a threat to trump? Does she understand the difference?
Before joining trump as President of the United States remained only three weeks, but he and his aides still remain hostage to the thinking of the campaign. They see in Obama, Clinton and the Democratic party of their rivals. They don’t trust the CIA. They believe the accusations against Putin are unfair, and the investigation of its role in elections they perceive as an attack on trump. They will do everything possible to protect Putin, to block further investigation and, as trump says, “move on”. They need to stop.
