Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied that he or anyone in his government hacked or interfered with the American presidential election.
President Trump, despite evidence from four U.S. intelligence services to the contrary, recently chose to agree with Putin that the Russians did not hack the election.
Now a Russian hacker, Konstantin Kozlovsky, has admitted in open court in Russia that he was hired by the Russian government’s state intelligence agency, the FSB to hack the Democratic National Committee’s computer in 2016.
“The testimony is potentially explosive,” reports Fortune, “as it is a first-hand account of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election that directly contradicts Putin’s denials of any involvement.
Kozlovsky told the court that he had reported to Dmitry Dokuchayev, a major-general in the FSB, since 2008, during an August pre-trial hearing on whether or not to extend his detention until he was actually tried.
In 2016, Kozlovsky testified Dokuchayev instructed him to attack the DNC’s servers, according to Fortune, “for the purpose of manipulating the U.S. electoral process.”
“According to the independent TV network Dozhd,” reports Meduza: The Real Russia Today website, “they are suspected of leaking intelligence about Russian hackers to the American government.”
Fortune’s story confirms Dokuchayev, who is now also in prison charged with treason, appears to be a primary source of information provided to the U.S. intelligence agencies that was released by the American Director of National Intelligence in January.
“Dokuchayev argued that the Russian state had directed a campaign designed to polarize public opinion and broadly discredit the campaign of Hillary Clinton,” reports Fortune.
The news that directly links Putin and the Russian government to the interference with the U.S. election was first reported by The Bell, a Russian website that is known for being critical of Putin and corruption under his rule.
Hacker Konstantin Kozlovsky, who is charged with several bank thefts, told a court he hacked the US Democratic Party's email on the orders of Russia's FSB security service, according to @thebell_io https://t.co/QakTTsMsmE
— Alec Luhn (@ASLuhn) December 11, 2017
The FSB, the Russian secret police, succeeded the KGB, where Putin was employed in the Soviet era.
“The Bell reports that FSB Major Dmitry Dokuchayev managed Kozlovsky using the pseudonym ‘Ilya,” writes Meduza: The Real Russia Today, website. “Kozlovsky also names former Kaspersky Lab official Ruslan Stoyanov.”
Kozlovsky, according to the report, was arrested earlier this year by Russian authorities looking into a group of hackers who stole over $50 million from Russian bank accounts since early 2016 using something called the Lurk virus.
The Bell reported that they got their information from Kozlovsky’s Facebook page, which had a written transcript and a sound recording (in Russian).
Konstantin Kozlovsky from Yekaterinburg in Moscow court says he was involved in Democratic National Committee hack under FSB supervision https://t.co/CLzR2XTRNt via @mediazzzona pic.twitter.com/vgGXk8fSio
— Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) December 11, 2017
It is unclear when Kozlovsky was first arrested by the Russians but it appears to have been no later than June 2016, which would have been about three months after emails were stolen from the online account of Clinton’s campaign chief John Podesta.
Those emails were published about five months later by Wikileaks on the day after the release of the notorious Access Hollywood videotapes of Trump telling Billy Bush that as a celebrity he could kiss, hug or even “grab the pussy” of any woman he pleased.
It has long been speculated that Wikileaks leaked the Podesta emails specifically to counter the unfavorable publicity engendered by the Access Hollywood tapes.
Wikileaks has also been linked to the Russian government, which this story confirms provided the Podesta emails to them, and may well have played a role in timing the release to help Trump.
Second FSB officer, Dmitry Dokuchayev, arrested for treason,had served under Mikhailov; director of their unit fired https://t.co/N5iv7B2fHi
— Julie Laumann ???? (@Otpor17) January 27, 2017
This confirms the reports of Russian hacking that Trump has repeatedly denied, preferring to support the views of his friend Putin. Now it is clear they both have lied.
If this is going public now, it is safe to assume that Special Counsel Robert Mueller already knows about it, and has proof that the president lied, and was in cahoots with the Russians during the election – which would mean Trump’s election was just a dirty trick by Putin to get someone into the White House he could influence.
Trump no doubt will deny it all, as will Putin, but as the bit and pieces of the story come together, the truth is coming out, and their constant denials reek of fake news.
Trump is not only the worst president in the modern era but also the most sleazy. It is clear that he will lie to cover up his misdeeds, make unfounded claims to push his agenda and refuse to admit it when he is wrong, even when caught in a lie.
It is fitting that the news that Trump is a liar and a pawn of Putin came out of Russia, where the whole idea of hacking the election appears to have originated.
