HFA Statement on Report Exposing Trump’s Secret Line of Communication to Russia

In response to a new report from Slate showing that the Trump Organization has a secret server registered to Trump Tower that has been covertly communicating with Russia, Hillary for America Senior Policy Adviser Jake Sullivan released the following statement Monday:

“This could be the most direct link yet between Donald Trump and Moscow. Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank.

This secret hotline may be the key to unlocking the mystery of Trump’s ties to Russia. It certainly seems the Trump Organization felt it had something to hide, given that it apparently took steps to conceal the link when it was discovered by journalists.

This line of communication may help explain Trump’s bizarre adoration of Vladimir Putin and endorsement of so many pro-Kremlin positions throughout this campaign. It raises even more troubling questions in light of Russia’s masterminding of hacking efforts that are clearly intended to hurt Hillary Clinton’s campaign. We can only assume that federal authorities will now explore this direct connection between Trump and Russia as part of their existing probe into Russia’s meddling in our elections.”

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News Source: Slate

Six Key Developments Today On Trump, WikiLeaks, And Russia

Hillary for America Senior Policy Advisor Jake Sullivan released the following statement today after news reports by Esquire and Motherboard confirmed for the first time publicly that Russia is behind the hack of John Podesta’s emails. Also, according to Esquire, Guccifer told journalists that he gave the DNC emails to WikiLeaks:

“The new public data confirming the Russians are behind the hack of John Podesta’s email is a big deal. There is no longer any doubt that Putin is trying to help Donald Trump by weaponizing WikiLeaks. Despite all the evidence, including the conclusions of the US intelligence community, Donald Trump went on the debate stage and acted as Putin’s puppet, defending Russia and refusing to admit and condemn the Kremlin’s actions. This behavior has gone from bizarre to disqualifying. In light of his associate’s admitted ‘back-channeling’ with Assange, and Trump’s own undisclosed business ties with Russia, it’s time for Trump to tell the American people what he knew about these hacks and when he knew it.”

According to Esquire:

“In the weeks that followed, Guccifer offered interviews and batches of documents to several journalists, but he wrote that “the main part of the papers, thousands of files and mails, I gave to WikiLeaks.”

“So far U. S. investigators have not said publicly who was responsible for the Podesta hack, but the data harvested by SecureWorks makes it clear that Fancy Bear broke into the Clinton chairman’s account as early as late March. The CIA briefed Trump about the origin of the kompromat, but he continued to cite the material, telling a Pennsylvania crowd, “I love WikiLeaks!”

According to Motherboard:

Months later, on October 9, WikiLeaks began publishing thousands of Podesta’s hacked emails. Almost everyone immediately pointed the finger at Russia, who is suspected of being behind a long and sophisticated hacking campaign that has the apparent goal of influencing the upcoming US elections. But there was no public evidence proving the same group that targeted the Democratic National Committee was behind the hack on Podesta—until now.

The data linking a group of Russian hackers—known as Fancy Bear, APT28, or Sofacy—to the hack on Podesta is also yet another piece in a growing heap of evidence pointing toward the Kremlin. And it also shows a clear thread between apparently separate and independent leaks that have appeared on a website called DC Leaks, such as that of Colin Powell’s emails; and the Podesta leak, which was publicized on WikiLeaks.

Six Key Developments Today On Trump, WikiLeaks, And Russia

1. Esquire published a deep dive on the full extent of Russia’s unprecedented hacking campaign to influence the U.S. election, including new details about the operation.

2. Motherboard confirmed that government-backed Russian hackers were behind the cyberattack on John Podesta’s emails, publicly detailing new, undeniable evidence.

3. Politico documented Trump’s haunting propensity for defending Putin’s crimes. Beyond the cyberattacks, Trump defended Putin in the killing of journalists, the assassination of a former Russian spy, and the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17.

4. Dallas Morning News reported that Trump had been personally briefed by House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul that Russia was behind these cyberattacks before he debate, in which he again denied their culpability.

5. Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said on MSNBC this morning that she was completely comfortable with the campaign exploiting documents that were stolen by Russian agents.

6. Former director of the NSA and CIA, Michael Hayden, told NBC News: “[Trump] reject[ed] a high confidence judgment from the American intelligence community that the Russians are breaking in to DNC emails. That’s troubling on two counts. First, what will it take for him to criticize Russia? And second, here is a man who would be president, rejecting an intelligence judgment because it is politically inconvenient.”

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HFA Statement on Putin’s Comments on U.S. Election

Hillary for America Senior Policy Adviser Jake Sullivan released the following statement today in reaction to Vladimir Putin’s new comments on the U.S. election:

“Vladimir Putin just confirmed that Donald Trump is carrying Russia’s water with his pro-Putin wish list of policies, and the only question left is whether he will follow through for the Kremlin. Putin is trying to put his thumb on the scale through cyber-attacks aimed at influencing the election because he knows that Hillary Clinton will stand up to him.

“It is baffling that his campaign finds cyberattacks on America ‘refreshing’ and ‘diligent’ while continuing to coddle Russia and its leader. Given the alarming set of facts, it’s time for Donald Trump to condemn this modern day Watergate and disclose all of his campaign’s connections to Russia and WikiLeaks.”

Hillary for America released a Medium post yesterday on the Russian hack that Donald Trump refuses to admit or condemn laying out an important question that voters deserve to know – “What did Trump know, and when did he know it?” Read it here.

The campaign also released a new video cataloguing Trump’s disturbing connections to Russia and why they are so concerning. Watch it here.

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Statement from HFA on Report that Trump Rented to Iranian Bank Linked to Terrorism

On Monday, The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released a report that revealed the Trump Organization rented office space to an Iranian bank linked to terrorism. Hillary for America senior policy advisor Jake Sullivan released the following statement in response:

“Today’s report that Trump’s organization did business with a sanctioned Iranian bank—one that has played a role in supporting Iran’s nuclear program and supported groups like Hezbollah and Hamas—shows yet again that Trump puts his own business interests ahead of the national interest. This report exposes Trump’s hypocrisy on Iran. As with Cuba, he talks a big game but when it comes to making a buck, he’ll deal with anyone. The conflicts of interest presented by Trump’s business and his own desire to boost his bottom line above all else demonstrate clearly why voters should know more about Trump’s business deals and what they mean for how he’ll govern.”

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News Source: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

Clinton Endorsed by Two Form Bush Administration Officials

Hillary Clinton has receive the endorsement of two officials from the administration of President George W. Bush. In op-eds published online, former Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan and Rear Admiral (Ret.) Deborah Loewer endorsed Hillary Clinton for president over Republican Donald Trump. Sullivan and Loewer are not the first Bush administration officials to endorse Clinton, and they join a growing list of Republicans backing Clinton. In her op-ed, Admiral Loewer says that the trust’s Clinton judgement saying, “Clinton not only has a deep understanding of the immeasurable power of the presidency, but she also possesses the discretion and judgment to know how to use it. She knows that the United States is the most powerful country in the world, and that other countries look to us for leadership, example and guidance.” Read the full op-eds by clicking the links above or in the source notes below.

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News Source: The Huffington Post, Cincinnati Enquirer

Statement from HFA Responding to Trump’s Ideological Test for Immigrants

Hillary for America Senior Policy Advisor Jake Sullivan today responded to a proposal made by Republican Donald Trump last week. Trump called for Muslim immigrants entering or visiting the United States to be submitted to an ideological test. In a statement, Sullivan said that Trump’s proposal “cannot be taken seriously.” The campaign also released a video highlighting Trump’s comments. Sullivan’s statement and HFA’s video are below.

“This so-called ‘policy’ cannot be taken seriously.  How can Trump put this forward with a straight face when he opposes marriage equality and selected as his running mate the man who signed an anti-LGBT law in Indiana?  It’s a cynical ploy to escape scrutiny of his outrageous proposal to ban an entire religion from our country and no one should fall for it.”

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News Source: The Washington Post

Statement from HFA on Trump’s Ukraine Comments

On Sunday morning, Republican Donald Trump defended Russian president Vladimir Putin saying that he would “go into Ukraine” despite the fact Russia already occupies Crimea, once part of the Ukraine. Hillary for America was quick to pounce on Trump’s misunderstanding of international politics with a statement from Senior Policy Advisor Jake Sullivan. He calls out Trump’s support of Russia and lack of foreign affairs knowledge. A copy of HFA’s statement is below.

“Today, Donald Trump was asked about Vladimir Putin and Ukraine.  Here is what he said:

‘He’s not going into Ukraine, OK, just so you understand. He’s not going to go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down. You can put it down. You can take it anywhere you want.’

What is he talking about?  Russia is already in Ukraine.  Does he not know that?  What else doesn’t he know?

While Trump hasn’t mastered basic facts about the world, he has mastered Putin’s talking points on Crimea (which, of course, the United States and most of the world still recognizes as part of Ukraine).  Today, he gamely repeated Putin’s argument that Russia was justified in seizing the sovereign territory of another country by force.

This is scary stuff.  But it shouldn’t surprise us.  This comes on the heels of his tacit invitation to the Russians to invade our NATO allies in Eastern Europe.

And it’s yet more proof why Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit and totally unqualified to be Commander in Chief.”

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News Source: The New York Times

Statement from HFA on Trump’s Press Conference

During a press conference on Wednesday, Donald Trump suggested that Russia should hack Hillary Clinton’s emails. She said, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.” Hillary for America was quick to respond with a statement from Senior Policy Advisor Jake Sullivan. He called Trump’s comments a matter of “national security.” A copy of the campaign’s statement is below.

“This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent. That’s not hyperbole, those are just the facts. This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue.”

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News Source: The New York Times

Clinton Campaign Statement on Trump’s NATO Comments

On Wednesday during the RNC, Governor Mike Pence, running mate of Donald Trump, commented that as president Trump would stand with our allies. Trump than contradicted Pence saying that the United States may not defend NATO members in the Batlics, even against a Russian attack. Trump’s comments about NATO have come under fire in recent weeks. He has been criticized for waffling on the pledge to defend our allies. In a statement, Hillary for America Senior Policy Advisor Jake Sullivan criticized Trump’s views on NATA and accused him of being too close to Russian president Vladimir Putin. A copy of the statement is below.

“Tonight, Mike Pence said Donald Trump would stand with our allies. Tonight, Donald Trump flatly contradicted him.

For decades, the United States has given an ironclad guarantee to our NATO allies: we will come to their defense if they are attacked, just as they came to our defense after 9/11. Donald Trump was asked if he would honor that guarantee. He said… maybe, maybe not.

Ronald Reagan would be ashamed. Harry Truman would be ashamed. Republicans, Democrats and Independents who help build NATO into the most successful military alliance in history would all come to the same conclusion: Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit and fundamentally ill-prepared to be our Commander in Chief.

The President is supposed to be the leader of the free world. Donald Trump apparently doesn’t even believe in the free world.

Over the course of this campaign, Trump has displayed a bizarre and occasionally obsequious fascination with Russia’s strongman, Vladimir Putin. And he has the policy positions – and advisors – to match. Just this week, we learned that the Trump campaign went to great lengths to remove a plank from the GOP platform about aid to Ukraine that would have offended Putin, bucking a strongly held position within his own party. Previously, he celebrated the Brexit vote, and in turn, casually predicted the disintegration of Europe. And now, he won’t even commit to protecting our NATO allies against a Russian invasion. It is fair to assume that Vladimir Putin is rooting for a Trump presidency.

More broadly, Trump has apparently decided that America lacks the moral authority to advance our interests and values around the world.  He has adopted the logic and positions of China, Russia, and Iran. And there will be plenty of time in the days ahead to address his strategy to strengthen our coalition against ISIS, which apparently can be summed up in one word, ‘meetings.’

The choice in this election is clear. Hillary Clinton will defend our allies. She will protect our people. And she will uphold a bipartisan tradition of American foreign policy that has made us the greatest force for peace, progress, and prosperity the world has ever known.”

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News Source: The New York Times

Bill Clinton Attends HFA Fundraiser

On Friday, Bill Clinton attended a fundraiser for the Hillary Victory Fund. The event was held in Chicago, Illinois. Also attending a fundraiser in support of Hillary Clinton today was New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. He spoke at an event in Miami, Florida. Yesterday, a fundraiser was held in Washington, DC and included a conversation with Senior Policy Advisor Jake Sullivan, Former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, Congressional Outreach Liaison Laura Schiller, and Senior Advisor to the Vice Chair Lona Valmoro.

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