[rad-green] Justice Department Drops Case Against 'Russian Influence Campaign' While New Fake Claims Arise

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*https://www.moonofalabama.org/2020/03/justice-department-drops-case-agains=
t-russian-influence-campaign-while-new-fake-claims-arise-1.html
<https://www.moonofalabama.org/2020/03/justice-department-drops-case-agains=
t-russian-influence-campaign-while-new-fake-claims-arise-1.html>*

*Moon of Alabama          March 18, 2020*
Justice Department Drops Case Against 'Russian Influence Campaign' While
New Fake Claims Arise

The Justice Department dropped its case against a Russian company which was
alleged of influencing the 2016 elections. But as one false claim about
Russian influence campaigns is now thoroughly debunked new nonsensical
claims about alleged Russian influence campaigns arise.

In February 2018 the Mueller investigation of alleged election interference
indicted a Russian company and individuals. As we reported at that time
<https://www.moonofalabama.org/2018/02/mueller-indictement-the-russian-infl=
uence-is-a-commercial-marketing-scheme.html>
:

Yesterday the U.S. Justice Department indicted the Russian *Internet
Research Agency* on some dubious legal grounds. It covers thirteen Russian
people and three Russian legal entities. The main count of the indictment
is an alleged "Conspiracy to Defraud the United States".

The published indictment
<https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=3D4380489-Justice-Departme=
nt-s-Internet-Research-Agency>
gives
support to our long held believe
<https://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/10/3000-facebook-ads-the-russian-influe=
nce-campaign-is-a-profitable-click-bait-scheme.html>
that
there was no "Russian influence" campaign during the U.S. election. What is
described and denounced as such was instead a commercial marketing scheme
which ran click-bait websites to generate advertisement revenue and created
online crowds around virtual persona to promote whatever its commercial
customers wanted to promote. The size of the operation was tiny when
compared to the hundreds of millions in campaign expenditures. It had no
influence on the election outcome.

We could claim that because the indictment said in its point 95:

Defendants and their co-conspirators also used the accounts to receive
money from real U.S. persons *in exchange for posting promotions and
advertisements on the ORGANIZATION-controlled social media pages.* Defendan=
ts
and their co-conspirators typically* charged certain U.S. merchants and
U.S. social media sites between 25 and 50 U.S. dollars per post for
promotional content* on their popular false U.S. persona accounts,
including Being Patriotic, Defend the 2nd, and Blacktivist.

The Russian trolls sold media space to advertisers. They had nothing to
with the election.

Our report then continued
<https://www.moonofalabama.org/2018/02/mueller-indictement-the-russian-infl=
uence-is-a-commercial-marketing-scheme.html>
:

The indictment is fodder for the public to prove that the Mueller
investigation is "doing something". It distracts from further questioning
the origin of the Steele dossier. It is full of unproven assertions and
assumptions. It is a sham in that none of the Russian persons or companies
indicted will ever come in front of a U.S. court.

The last sentence of that quote has proven to be wrong. One of the legal
entities the Mueller investigation indicted, the Russian company Concord
Management, hired a U.S. attorney and challenged the justice department.
The back and forth during the pre-trial discovery hearings in front of the
court, which can be followed in the docket
<https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6386795/united-states-v-internet-rese=
arch-agency-llc/>
of
the case, proofed to be highly entertaining
<https://twitter.com/Techno_Fog/status/1239689052565180418> as Concord
attorney Eric Dubelier was running
<https://twitter.com/Techno_Fog/status/1239690462602166278> circles
<https://twitter.com/Techno_Fog/status/1239691743127273474> around
<https://twitter.com/Techno_Fog/status/997282797181169665> the Special
Counsel and DOJ lawyers.

On Monday the Justice Department dropped
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/drops-case-russian-firm-accused-201=
6-vote-meddling-200317012914726.html>
the
case:

The US Justice Department on Monday abruptly dropped its criminal case
against a company controlled by an ally of Russian President Vladimir
Putin, which allegedly funded the campaign to meddle in the United States'
2016 elections.

Just weeks before the trial was to begin, the Justice Department announced
it was withdrawing the eight-count indictment of Concord Management and
Consulting, a company owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The Justice Department claims that Concord Management is demanding evidence
for discovery which is secret and that such a demand makes it impossible to
move towards a trial:

In a filing in Washington federal district court, the Justice Department
said that Concord's tactics of trying to use US law and court procedures to
prise out classified intelligence related to the evidence against it was a
threat to national security.

"The government has concluded that further proceedings as to Concord, a
Russian company with no presence in the United States and no exposure to
meaningful punishment in the event of conviction, promotes neither the
interests of justice nor the nation's security," it said.

Imagine that - someone who is accused of a crime is using the law and court
procedures to see the evidence against him. That can not be allowed. Drop
the case.

Those who still defend the Russian interference nonsense will claim that
the Trump's Attorney General, William Barr, has killed the case. But that
is wrong
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/us/politics/concord-case-russian-interf=
erence.html>
:

The trial team included Adam C. Jed, who had worked on Mr. Mueller=E2=80=99=
s team,
and Heather Alpino, a Justice Department National Security Division lawyer
who worked closely with the special counsel=E2=80=99s office. Both signed t=
he brief
filed on Monday.

So essentially the Mueller team dropped its own case against Concord
because there was no chance that they would win it.

But as all claims about Russian influence campaigns are now debunked new
ones must be made to keep the meme going.

*Reuters*: Russia deploying coronavirus disinformation to sow panic in
West, EU document says
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-disinformation/russi=
a-deploying-coronavirus-disinformation-to-sow-panic-in-west-eu-document-say=
s-idUSKBN21518F>

Russian media have deployed a =E2=80=9Csignificant disinformation campaign=
=E2=80=9D against
the West to worsen the impact of the coronavirus, generate panic and sow
distrust, according to a European Union document seen by Reuters.
...
=E2=80=9CA significant disinformation campaign by Russian state media and
pro-Kremlin outlets regarding COVID-19 is ongoing,=E2=80=9D said the nine-p=
age
internal document, dated March 16, ..
...
*It quoted fake news created by Russia in Italy, the second-most heavily
affected country in the world, that health systems would be unable to cope
and doctors would choose who lived or died because of a lack of beds.*

One wonders if *Reuters* confused the shady EU paper with its own
March 16 special
report
<https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-ethics-speci/al=
l-is-well-in-italy-triage-and-lies-for-virus-patients-idUKKBN2133KG>
about
Italy's use of triage in it's fight against the epidemic. Was that also
'fake news'?

Every time a bed comes free, two anaesthesiologists consult with a
specialist in resuscitation and an internal medicine physician to decide
who will occupy it.
...
The most devastating medical crisis in Italy since World War Two is forcing
doctors, patients and their families to make decisions that Resta, a former
military doctor, said he has not experienced even in war.
...
Italy=E2=80=99s Association of Anaesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and In=
tensive
Care published new guidelines on March 7. Because it expects a =E2=80=9Chuge
imbalance=E2=80=9D between the clinical needs of the population and intensi=
ve care
resources over the next few weeks, it told those on the front lines: Give
priority to those with =E2=80=9Cgreater life expectancy.=E2=80=9D

If Russian state media indeed reported that Italy's health system is unable
to cope with the epidemic and that doctors must choose who to save then it
reported the naked truth. There were more than 4,000 new cases in Italy
today and more than 450 dead. That is a new global record.

Western media, primarily the *New York Times*
<https://twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/1239693809937715200>, were the ones
which made false claims about Russian influence campaigns which never
existed. Western media, primarily the *New York Times*, continue to do so
<https://consortiumnews.com/2020/03/17/the-new-york-times-insidious-ongoing=
-disinformation-campaign-on-russia-elections/>
=2E

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_default" style=3D"fon=
t-size:small"><b><font face=3D"georgia, serif"><a href=3D"https://www.moono=
falabama.org/2020/03/justice-department-drops-case-against-russian-influenc=
e-campaign-while-new-fake-claims-arise-1.html" target=3D"_blank">https://ww=
w.moonofalabama.org/2020/03/justice-department-drops-case-against-russian-i=
nfluence-campaign-while-new-fake-claims-arise-1.html</a></font></b><br></di=
v></div><div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><div dir=3D"ltr"><b><fo=
nt face=3D"georgia, serif"><br><font size=3D"4">Moon of Alabama =C2=A0 =C2=
=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0March 18, 2020</font></font></b><div><h3><font colo=
r=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"6">Justice Department Drops C=
ase Against &#39;Russian Influence Campaign&#39; While New Fake Claims Aris=
e</font></h3><p><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">=
The Justice Department dropped its case against a Russian company which was=
 alleged of influencing the 2016 elections. But as one false claim about Ru=
ssian influence campaigns is now thoroughly debunked new nonsensical claims=
 about alleged Russian influence campaigns arise.</font></p><p><font color=
=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">In February 2018 the Muelle=
r investigation of alleged election interference indicted a Russian company=
 and individuals. As we=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.moonofalabama.org/2018/=
02/mueller-indictement-the-russian-influence-is-a-commercial-marketing-sche=
me.html" target=3D"_blank">reported at that time</a>:</font></p><blockquote=
><p><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">Yesterday th=
e U.S. Justice Department indicted the Russian=C2=A0<em>Internet Research A=
gency</em>=C2=A0on some dubious legal grounds. It covers thirteen Russian p=
eople and three Russian legal entities. The main count of the indictment is=
 an alleged &quot;Conspiracy to Defraud the United States&quot;.</font></p>=
<p><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">The published=
=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=3D4380489-=
Justice-Department-s-Internet-Research-Agency" target=3D"_blank">indictment=
</a>=C2=A0gives support to our=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.moonofalabama.or=
g/2017/10/3000-facebook-ads-the-russian-influence-campaign-is-a-profitable-=
click-bait-scheme.html" target=3D"_blank">long held believe</a>=C2=A0that t=
here was no &quot;Russian influence&quot; campaign during the U.S. election=
. What is described and denounced as such was instead a commercial marketin=
g scheme which ran click-bait websites to generate advertisement revenue an=
d created online crowds around virtual persona to promote whatever its comm=
ercial customers wanted to promote. The size of the operation was tiny when=
 compared to the hundreds of millions in campaign expenditures. It had no i=
nfluence on the election outcome.</font></p></blockquote><p><font color=3D"=
#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">We could claim that because the=
 indictment said in its point 95:</font></p><blockquote><font color=3D"#000=
000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">Defendants and their co-conspirator=
s also used the accounts to receive money from real U.S. persons=C2=A0<stro=
ng>in exchange for posting promotions and advertisements on the ORGANIZATIO=
N-controlled social media pages.</strong>=C2=A0Defendants and their co-cons=
pirators typically<strong>=C2=A0charged certain U.S. merchants and U.S. soc=
ial media sites between 25 and 50 U.S. dollars per post for promotional con=
tent</strong>=C2=A0on their popular false U.S. persona accounts, including =
Being Patriotic, Defend the 2nd, and Blacktivist.</font></blockquote><p><fo=
nt color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">The Russian trolls =
sold media space to advertisers. They had nothing to with the election.=C2=
=A0</font></p><p><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4"=
>Our report then=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.moonofalabama.org/2018/02/muel=
ler-indictement-the-russian-influence-is-a-commercial-marketing-scheme.html=
" target=3D"_blank">continued</a>:</font></p><blockquote><font color=3D"#00=
0000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">The indictment is fodder for the p=
ublic to prove that the Mueller investigation is &quot;doing something&quot=
;. It distracts from further questioning the origin of the Steele dossier. =
It is full of unproven assertions and assumptions. It is a sham in that non=
e of the Russian persons or companies indicted will ever come in front of a=
 U.S. court.</font></blockquote><p><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia,=
 serif" size=3D"4">The last sentence of that quote has proven to be wrong. =
One of the legal entities the Mueller investigation indicted, the Russian c=
ompany Concord Management, hired a U.S. attorney and challenged the justice=
 department. The back and forth during the pre-trial discovery hearings in =
front of the court, which can be followed in the=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://ww=
w.courtlistener.com/docket/6386795/united-states-v-internet-research-agency=
-llc/" target=3D"_blank">docket</a>=C2=A0of the case, proofed to be=C2=A0<a=
 href=3D"https://twitter.com/Techno_Fog/status/1239689052565180418" target=
=3D"_blank">highly entertaining</a>=C2=A0as Concord attorney Eric Dubelier =
was=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://twitter.com/Techno_Fog/status/12396904626021662=
78" target=3D"_blank">running</a>=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://twitter.com/Techn=
o_Fog/status/1239691743127273474" target=3D"_blank">circles</a>=C2=A0<a hre=
f=3D"https://twitter.com/Techno_Fog/status/997282797181169665" target=3D"_b=
lank">around</a>=C2=A0the Special Counsel and DOJ lawyers.</font></p><p><fo=
nt color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">On Monday the Justi=
ce Department=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/drops-=
case-russian-firm-accused-2016-vote-meddling-200317012914726.html" target=
=3D"_blank">dropped</a>=C2=A0the case:</font></p><font color=3D"#000000" fa=
ce=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4"><a id=3D"gmail-m_1756985502657575516m_-213=
5323184220364862gmail-more" style=3D"text-decoration-line:underline"></a></=
font><blockquote><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4"=
>The US Justice Department on Monday abruptly dropped its criminal case aga=
inst a company controlled by an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, w=
hich allegedly funded the campaign to meddle in the United States&#39; 2016=
 elections.</font><p><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=
=3D"4">Just weeks before the trial was to begin, the Justice Department ann=
ounced it was withdrawing the eight-count indictment of Concord Management =
and Consulting, a company owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin.</font></p></blockquot=
e><p><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">The Justice=
 Department claims that Concord Management is demanding evidence for discov=
ery which is secret and that such a demand makes it impossible to move towa=
rds a trial:</font></p><blockquote><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia,=
 serif" size=3D"4">In a filing in Washington federal district court, the Ju=
stice Department said that Concord&#39;s tactics of trying to use US law an=
d court procedures to prise out classified intelligence related to the evid=
ence against it was a threat to national security.</font><p><font color=3D"=
#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">&quot;The government has conclu=
ded that further proceedings as to Concord, a Russian company with no prese=
nce in the United States and no exposure to meaningful punishment in the ev=
ent of conviction, promotes neither the interests of justice nor the nation=
&#39;s security,&quot; it said.</font></p></blockquote><p><font color=3D"#0=
00000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">Imagine that - someone who is acc=
used of a crime is using the law and court procedures to see the evidence a=
gainst him. That can not be allowed. Drop the case.</font></p><p><font colo=
r=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">Those who still defend the=
 Russian interference nonsense will claim that the Trump&#39;s Attorney Gen=
eral, William Barr, has killed the case. But that is=C2=A0<a href=3D"https:=
//www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/us/politics/concord-case-russian-interference.=
html" target=3D"_blank">wrong</a>:</font></p><blockquote><font color=3D"#00=
0000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">The trial team included Adam C. Je=
d, who had worked on Mr. Mueller=E2=80=99s team, and Heather Alpino, a Just=
ice Department National Security Division lawyer who worked closely with th=
e special counsel=E2=80=99s office. Both signed the brief filed on Monday.<=
/font></blockquote><p><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=
=3D"4">So essentially the Mueller team dropped its own case against Concord=
 because there was no chance that they would win it.</font></p><p><font col=
or=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">But as all claims about R=
ussian influence campaigns are now debunked new ones must be made to keep t=
he meme going.</font></p><p><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif"=
 size=3D"4"><em>Reuters</em>:=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.reuters.com/artic=
le/us-health-coronavirus-disinformation/russia-deploying-coronavirus-disinf=
ormation-to-sow-panic-in-west-eu-document-says-idUSKBN21518F" target=3D"_bl=
ank">Russia deploying coronavirus disinformation to sow panic in West, EU d=
ocument says</a></font></p><blockquote><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"geor=
gia, serif" size=3D"4">Russian media have deployed a =E2=80=9Csignificant d=
isinformation campaign=E2=80=9D against the West to worsen the impact of th=
e coronavirus, generate panic and sow distrust, according to a European Uni=
on document seen by Reuters.<br>...<br>=E2=80=9CA significant disinformatio=
n campaign by Russian state media and pro-Kremlin outlets regarding COVID-1=
9 is ongoing,=E2=80=9D said the nine-page internal document, dated March 16=
, ..<br>...<br><strong>It quoted fake news created by Russia in Italy, the =
second-most heavily affected country in the world, that health systems woul=
d be unable to cope and doctors would choose who lived or died because of a=
 lack of beds.</strong></font></blockquote><p><font color=3D"#000000" face=
=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">One wonders if=C2=A0<em>Reuters</em>=C2=A0co=
nfused the shady EU paper with its own March 16=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://uk.=
reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-ethics-speci/all-is-well-in=
-italy-triage-and-lies-for-virus-patients-idUKKBN2133KG" target=3D"_blank">=
special report</a>=C2=A0about Italy&#39;s use of triage in it&#39;s fight a=
gainst the epidemic. Was that also &#39;fake news&#39;?</font></p><blockquo=
te><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">Every time a =
bed comes free, two anaesthesiologists consult with a specialist in resusci=
tation and an internal medicine physician to decide who will occupy it.<br>=
...<br>The most devastating medical crisis in Italy since World War Two is =
forcing doctors, patients and their families to make decisions that Resta, =
a former military doctor, said he has not experienced even in war.<br>...<b=
r>Italy=E2=80=99s Association of Anaesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and =
Intensive Care published new guidelines on March 7. Because it expects a =
=E2=80=9Chuge imbalance=E2=80=9D between the clinical needs of the populati=
on and intensive care resources over the next few weeks, it told those on t=
he front lines: Give priority to those with =E2=80=9Cgreater life expectanc=
y.=E2=80=9D</font></blockquote><p><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"georgia, =
serif" size=3D"4">If Russian state media indeed reported that Italy&#39;s h=
ealth system is unable to cope with the epidemic and that doctors must choo=
se who to save th<span class=3D"gmail_default">e</span>n it reported the na=
ked truth. There were more than 4,000 new cases in Italy today and more tha=
n 450 dead. That is a new global record.</font></p><p><font color=3D"#00000=
0" face=3D"georgia, serif" size=3D"4">Western media,=C2=A0<a href=3D"https:=
//twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/1239693809937715200" target=3D"_blank">prim=
arily the=C2=A0<em>New York Times</em></a>, were the ones which made false =
claims about Russian influence campaigns which never existed. Western media=
, primarily the=C2=A0<em>New York Times</em>,=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://conso=
rtiumnews.com/2020/03/17/the-new-york-times-insidious-ongoing-disinformatio=
n-campaign-on-russia-elections/" target=3D"_blank">continue to do so</a>.</=
font></p></div></div>
</div></div>
</div>

<p></p>

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