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Groton Daily Independent
Thursday, Nov. 02, 2017 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 116 ~ 24 of 44
fully, the data drawn from them could run into terabytes — easily rivaling the biggest known leaks in journalistic history.
For the hackers to have made sense of that mountain of messages — in English, Ukrainian, Russian, Georgian, Arabic and many other languages — they would have needed a substantial team of analysts and translators. Merely identifying and sorting the targets took six AP reporters eight weeks of work.
The AP’s effort offers “a little feel for how much labor went into this,” said Thomas Rid, a professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.
He said the investigation should put to rest any theories like the one then-candidate Donald Trump oated last year that the hacks could be the work of “someone sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds.”
“The notion that it’s just a lone hacker somewhere is utterly absurd,” Rid said.
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Donn reported from Plymouth, Massachusetts. Myers reported from Chicago. Chad Day, Desmond But-
ler and Ted Bridis in Washington, Frank Bajak in Houston, Lori Hinnant in Paris, Maggie Michael in Cairo and Erika Kinetz in Shanghai contributed to this report. Novaya Gazeta reporters Nikolay Voroshilov, Yana Surinskaya and Roman Anin in Moscow also contributed.
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Satter, Donn and Myers can be reached at:
http://raphaelsatter.com, https://twitter.com/jadonn7 and https://twitter.com/myersjustinc
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Editor’s Note: Satter’s father, David Satter, is an author and Russia specialist who has been critical of the
Kremlin. His emails were published last year by hackers and his account is on Secureworks’ list of Fancy Bear targets.
House GOP set to unveil tax overhaul; keeps retirement rules By MARCY GORDON and ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are set to unveil their far-reaching tax overhaul Thursday, making major changes yet looking to preserve current tax rules for retirement accounts popular with middle-class Americans and to retain a top income-tax rate for million-dollar earners.
GOP negotiators scrambled this week to nalize details of the rst major revamp of the tax system in three decades. Though working furiously, they missed a self-imposed Wednesday deadline as top Repub- licans batted down rumors that the public rollout could be delayed until next week.
The legislation is a longstanding goal for Capitol Hill Republicans who see a once-in-a-generation op- portunity to clean up an inef cient, loophole-cluttered tax code. But there is lingering opposition from northeastern Republicans fearful of losing a cherished deduction for state and local taxes and anxiety among other rank-and- le lawmakers over emerging details.
Senior GOP lawmakers con rmed the decision to retain existing rules on 401(k) accounts, which came after assurances from President Donald Trump that they would not be changed. Ways and Means Com- mittee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, had hoped to reduce 401(k) contribution limits, in part to generate new tax revenues in the near term to nance the cuts to income tax rates.
Another lawmaker cautioned that the decision might still change. The lawmakers required anonymity because the tax panel was trying to keep its deliberations secret until the tax measure is released.
In uential conservative Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., dismissed proposed retirement changes as a “non- starter,” adding “that’s what most of middle-income America uses as their nest egg.”
Brady said the panel hoped to meet Trump’s goal of a cut in the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent but allowed that the change would not be permanent because of arcane Senate rules.
Republicans and Trump argue that sharply cutting tax rates for businesses improves U.S. economic competitiveness, but the possibility of letting the lower corporate rates expire is rankling some longtime advocates who say the uncertainty could limit its boost to the economy.
The ambitious timetable calls for passing the complex measure in the House by Thanksgiving.