Russia Caught Hacking Burisma To Help Trump Find Election Dirt On The Bidens

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 11:55 am

History appears to be repeating itself as the Russians reportedly hacked Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company for which Joe Biden’s son Hunter worked.

According to The New York Times, “Russian military hackers have been boring into the Ukrainian gas company at the center of the [House impeachment inquiry], according to security experts.”

The report explained that Russia’s latest effort to interfere in American politics is “strikingly similar” to what happened in 2016 when the Kremlin hacked Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

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The new Russian hack came in November, as Biden, Ukraine and Burisma were at the center of news related to the House impeachment investigation.

More from The New York Times:

The hacking attempts against Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company on whose board Hunter Biden served, began in early November, as talk of the Bidens, Ukraine and impeachment was dominating the news in the United States.

It is not yet clear what the hackers found, or precisely what they were searching for. But the experts say the timing and scale of the attacks suggest that the Russians could be searching for potentially embarrassing material on the Bidens — the same kind of information that Mr. Trump wanted from Ukraine when he pressed for an investigation of the Bidens and Burisma, setting off a chain of events that led to his impeachment.

The Russian tactics are strikingly similar to what American intelligence agencies say was Russia’s hacking of emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman and the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 presidential campaign. In that case, once they had the emails, the Russians used trolls to spread and spin the material, and built an echo chamber to widen its effect.

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The Russian attacks on Burisma appear to be running parallel to an effort by Russian spies in Ukraine to dig up information in the analog world that could embarrass the Bidens, according to an American security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. The spies, the official said, are trying to penetrate Burisma and working sources in the Ukrainian government in search of emails, financial records and legal documents.

Trump can’t win without Russia’s help

Donald Trump’s refusal to stand up against Vladimir Putin’s attacks on U.S. democracy didn’t just let Moscow off the hook for what happened in 2016, but it has emboldened them to meddle in the 2020 campaign.

If this president knew he could win a general election without foreign help, he wouldn’t have spent the last three years being soft on Russia, even as his own intelligence community concluded that they were responsible for the 2016 attack.

He also wouldn’t have extorted another foreign power, Ukraine, into handing over non-existent dirt on the Democratic opponent he apparently fears most, Joe Biden.

Donald Trump knows he needs foreign help to win again in 2020. Russia’s new actions show that they know he needs it, too.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.