No Forensic Evidence Russia Hacked DNC Emails

It has been 105 days since Adam Schiff, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, was forced to release sworn testimony by Shawn Henry, President of Crowdstrike, admitting there was no forensic evidence that the DNC emails so damaging to Hillary Clinton were hacked – by Russia or anyone else.

The following excerpts from Henry’s testimony speak for themselves. The dialogue is not a paragon of clarity; but if read carefully, even cyber neophytes can understand:

Ranking Member Mr. [Adam] Schiff: Do you know the date on which the Russians exfiltrated the data from the DNC? … when would that have been?

Mr. Henry: Counsel just reminded me that, as it relates to the DNC, we have indicators that data was exfiltrated from the DNC, but we have no indicators that it was exfiltrated (sic). … There are times when we can see data exfiltrated, and we can say conclusively. But in this case, it appears it was set up to be exfiltrated, but we just don’t have the evidence that says it actually left.

Mr. [Chris] Stewart of Utah: Okay. What about the emails that everyone is so, you know, knowledgeable of? Were there also indicators that they were prepared but not evidence that they actually were exfiltrated?

Mr. Henry: There’s not evidence that they were actually exfiltrated. There’s circumstantial evidence … but no evidence that they were actually exfiltrated. …

“QED”, said former NSA Technical Director Bill Binney. “Quod erat demonstrandum: that which was to be demonstrated” (for those a bit stale in the old rubrics of geometry).

We in VIPS had been saying what Shawn Henry finally admitted since Dec. 12, 2016. See: US Intel Vets Dispute Russia Hacking Claims.

Finally, we thought, the truth emerges. Better late than never – and how late it was!

Sadly, we have not yet seen the end of the wait. The Establishment media story that Russia hacked the DNC emails is too big to fail. CrowdStrike’s admission had been suppressed. We feel as though we are waiting for Godot.

Shawn Henry testified under oath on Dec. 5, 2017, but it was not until May 7, 2020 – TWO AND A HALF YEARS LATER – that he was forced to release Henry’s testimony, parts of which actually do merit the usually-overused term “bombshell”. How, we wondered, would the NY Times and other Establishment media handle this puncture of the hot air balloon named “Russian hack of the DNC”?

Well, it turns out that a quick-reaction “bombshell removal team” was summoned into action to defuse and bury both bomb and shell. Readers of the Times and other “mainstream” media have been prevented from learning of the CrowdStrike president’s testimony. Incredibly, the MSM seem to be on their way to duplicate Adam Schiff’s two-and-a-half year deep-sixing caper – only 26 months to go.

On August 18, Lee Camp invited Ray onto “Redacted Tonight” to discuss this, Julian Assange plight, and other front-burner issues. Lee, a comedian by trade, was in a deadly serious mode, having done serious homework, asking serious questions.

By the way, one of his best programs aired three years ago, after Patrick Lawrence told “the saga of the missing hack” in an excellent article in The Nation, which raised hackles among the HWHW (Hillary Would Have Won) partisans there. Lee’s coverage of the hack canard then is a hoot. I’ll include a link to that one below the interview this week.

Here’s my interview (Tuesday) that aired Thursday:

Julian Assange Prosecution an “Abomination” Says Former CIA Man
August 20, 2020, 16 minutes

And below is the Lee Camp-McGovern Interview 3 years ago. With artful use of video clips; enjoy!

Intelligence Analysts Say Russia Didn’t Hack U.S. Election

For extra credit:

Former CIA Analyst on the Agency’s History of Lying to the Public
September 7, 2017 (21:40 minutes)

Lack of a Hack: for Dummies
August 5, 2020

Finally: Some good advice on “accommodating”: Huckleberry Finn’s black friend, Big Jim, answers Huck’s question about accommodating to the conventional wisdom – in this case on slavery: ”Just because … everybody believes it’s right, that don’t make it right.”

Just because almost everyone believes the political hacks, hacking the Russian-hack story, that don’t make it true.

Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, a publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. His 27-year career as a CIA analyst includes serving as Chief of the Soviet Foreign Policy Branch and preparer/briefer of the President’s Daily Brief. He is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).