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u.s. news Diabierna 11 September 2020

Charges, sanctions revive specter of Russian interference

(AP) — The Trump administration erated bogus social media accounts denigrate Biden. The Treasury De-
on Thursday charged a Russian na- that could pump out messaging to partment action is the second time in
tional in a sweeping plot to sow dis- millions of Americans on divisive so- as many months that the administra-
trust in the American political pro- cial issues. tion has called out Derkach by name.
cess and imposed sanctions against a U.S. intelligence officials said in a
Russia-linked Ukrainian lawmaker The group operated through enti- statement last month that Derkach's
accused of interfering in the U.S. ties including the Internet Research disclosure of the recordings, which
presidential election. Agency, the Russian troll farm capture conversations between
Those actions, combined with a Mi- charged by special counsel Rob- Biden and Ukraine's then-president,
crosoft announcement on hacking at- ert Mueller with stirring up discord were part of a broader Russian ef-
tempts targeting both the campaigns before the 2016 election. Its posts fort to disparage Biden before the
of President Donald Trump and touched on topics including gun Nov. 3 election.The administration's
Democratic challenger Joe Biden, rights, immigration, the Confederate move was especially notable because attempt to influence elections in the
underscore the extent to which the flag and race relations, according to a the statement announcing it said United States and elsewhere around
same cyber intrusions and foreign complaint charging Lifshits with us- Derkach's recordings advance anti- the world,” Treasury Secretary Steven
influence operations that defined the ing the stolen identities of Americans Biden claims that rely on “false and Mnuchin said in a statement. “The
2016 to open fake accounts at banks and unsubstantiated narratives.” Trump United States will continue to use
digital currency exchanges. “Project has promoted those recordings by all the tools at its disposal to counter
White House race remain a persis- Lakhta members did not exclusively retweeting posts that include or refer- these Russian disinformation cam-
tent concern today. They also reflect adopt one ideological viewpoint; ence them."Derkach almost certainly paigns and uphold the integrity of our
a dichotomy in the administration. rather, they wrote on topics from var- targeted the U.S. voting populace, election system.”
with officials taking aim at Russian ied and sometimes opposing perspec- prominent U.S. persons, and mem-
interference in the political process tives,” a Secret Service agent wrote in bers of the U.S. government, based In May, Derkach released audio re-
even as Trump expresses doubt about an affidavit supporting the complaint. on his reliance on U.S. platforms, cordings of purported conversations
Russian meddling. In the case of the “Project Lakhta members also devel- English-language documents and between Biden, while vice president,
sanctions, officials denounced audio oped strategies and guidance to target videos, and pro-Russian lobbyists in and Ukraine's former president, Petro
recordings that had been released by audiences with conservative and lib- the United States used to propagate Poroshenko. The release was intend-
the Ukrainian lawmaker and promot- eral viewpoints, as well as particular his claims," the Treasury Department ed to promote a baseless narrative
ed by Trump on Twitter. The crimi- social groups.” said in designating Derkach and three that Biden had demanded the firing
nal charges accuse Artem Mikhay- other Russia-linked individuals un- of Ukraine's top prosecutor because
lovich Lifshits of serving as a trans- Lifshits was one of four people cited der an executive order designed to the prosecutor was investigating a gas
lation manager in a Russian effort by the Treasury Department, along target election interference. company in Ukraine where Biden's
that since at least 2014 has tried to with Andrii Derkach, a Ukrainian Derkach is a graduate of a Russian son Hunter held a board seat.Biden
disrupt the American political system lawmaker described by the U.S. gov- spy academy who, the Treasury De- was representing the official position
and spread distrust about candidates. ernment as “an active Russian agent” partment says, maintains close ties to of the Obama administration and
Members of the initiative, known as for a decade. Officials say he has inter- Russian intelligence services.“Andrii many Western allies in seeking the
Project Lakhta, traveled to the United fered in the 2020 election by releasing Derkach and other Russian agents removal of the prosecutor who was
States to collect intelligence and op- edited audio recordings designed to employ manipulation and deceit to perceived as soft on corruption.

Wisconsin Democrats think they can avoid mistakes of 2016

(AP) — Wisconsin Demo- Democrats in Wisconsin ex- and Trump visited Kenosha, ocrats say she was overly con- urban Milwaukee voters,
crats, stung by President pect another close race, just where the Aug. 23 shooting fident, given Barack Obama's who have become less reli-
Donald Trump's narrow win like three of the past five of Blake sparked three nights two big wins in Wisconsin. ably Republican in recent
four years ago, are confident presidential elections that of protests and unrest that Ben Wikler, the Wisconsin years. “The suburban vote
the lessons they learned will were decided by less than a culminated with the shoot- Democratic Party chairman is something (Trump is)
ensure he doesn't do it again. point in the swing state. ings of three demonstra- who took over after Clinton's working to get a handle on,”
But Republicans say civil tors, two of whom died. A defeat, said the party has been Reisinger, the GOP strate-
unrest that followed a po- “This is going to be a fist- 17-year-old Trump supporter working to avoid a repeat. gist, said. “The president
lice shooting in Kenosha, fight in the mud until the is accused of the shootings. “When the results came in has begun to get his foot-
and Trump's “law and order” very end, scrapping for ev- The Biden lead is consistent on election night in 2016, ing with the suburban issue
message, will help him win ery vote,” said Republican with where Hillary Clinton the ground gave way and we but needs to continue.” Hitt
over the crucial white subur- strategist Brian Reisinger. was at this point four years were in a free fall,” Wikler said Trump needs to focus
ban voters he needs to cap- Democrat Joe Biden has led ago. She went on to lose by said. “Starting the next day not just on the Milwaukee
ture a second term.With less Trump by 4 to 6 points in the fewer than 23,000 votes. we started figuring out how suburbs but an even broader
than two months to go until past four Marquette Uni- this happened and how it area reaching farther beyond
the election, the presidential versity Law School polls of While the coronavirus pan- can never happen again.” the three counties that have
race is focused on Wisconsin likely Wisconsin voters be- demic largely grounded the Democrats launched a year- traditionally been seen as the
and other battleground states tween May and September. candidates for much of the round organizing program in key to victory. Republicans
that will likely determine Attitudes didn't change this spring and summer, both 2017, building neighborhood opened their first office in
the winner. Republicans and month even after both Biden sides are increasing their trav- teams to interact with vot- the city of Milwaukee and
els to Wisconsin. Trump was ers on a more personal level. will be aggressive about going
in Kenosha last week to thank Wikler said those efforts paid after votes in the Democratic
police for their response to off with victories for every stronghold, Hitt said.
protests after a white po- statewide office in 2018 as If Biden can shave off enough
lice officer shot Jacob Blake, well as Wisconsin Supreme Republican voters in the sub-
a Black man. Biden came Court wins in 2018 and 2020. urbs and broader southeast-
to Kenosha two days later, Wisconsin Republican Party ern Wisconsin area, together
meeting with members of Chairman Andrew Hitt said with the heavily Democratic
Blake's family and holding a the Trump campaign built urban centers of Milwaukee
community discussion about its infrastructure in the state and Madison, there aren’t
the shooting and racial ten- earlier and more aggressively enough Trump voters in the
sions. Their running mates than four years ago, with up rest of the state to get him
later made their own visits. to four times the number of reelected. It’s a formula that
Clinton never campaigned staff. other candidates followed in
in Wisconsin after losing the Both Biden and Trump are 2018 when Democrats won
state's primary in 2016. Dem- fighting hard for white sub- every statewide office.