Russia hackers had targets worldwide, beyond US election

Russia hackers had targets worldwide, beyond US election

WASHINGTON

The hackers who disrupted the U.S. presidential election had ambitions well beyond Hillary Clinton’s campaign, targeting the emails of Ukrainian officers, Russian opposition figures, U.S. defense contractors and thousands of others of interest to the Kremlin, according to a previously unpublished digital hit list obtained by The Associated Press.

The list provides the most detailed forensic evidence yet of the close alignment between the hackers and the Russian government, exposing an operation that stretched back years and tried to break into the inboxes of 4,700 Gmail users across the globe – from the pope’s representative in Kiev to the punk band Pussy Riot in Moscow.

The AP findings draw on a database of 19,000 malicious links collected by cybersecurity firm Secureworks, dozens of rogue emails and interviews with more than 100 hacking targets.

Trump’s tweets seen as unlikely to slow terror case

NEW YORK

President Donald Trump’s tweets calling for the death penalty for the man charged in the New York truck rampage could give defense attorneys grounds to argue that Trump has poisoned the minds of potential jurors. But some legal experts doubt that argument will slow the case.

In a highly unusual instance of a president weighing in on the fate of a defendant awaiting trial, Trump said on Twitter that 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov “SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!” in the attack that left eight people dead. In another tweet, Trump said prosecutors “Should move fast. DEATH PENALTY!”

Some legal experts Thursday said judges in Manhattan’s federal courts will not let the president’s remarks slow the case or throw it off track.

Mueller grand jury investigating top DC lobbyists

WASHINGTON

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s grand jury is investigating a prominent Democratic lobbyist and a former GOP congressman for their involvement in an influence campaign on behalf of Ukrainian interests tied to Paul Manafort, according to a person with direct knowledge of the investigation.

At the center of the widening probe are Tony Podesta, a longtime Democratic operative, and Vin Weber, a former GOP congressman and leader of his own high-powered lobbying firm, Mercury LLC. The two men were hired as part of a multimillion-dollar lobbying effort directed by Manafort and longtime associate Rick Gates.

Groups sue for details on Trump plan for monuments

BILLINGS, Mont.

Environmentalists sued the administration of President Donald Trump on Thursday seeking to pry loose details of plans to shrink national monuments and marine areas and open them to more resource development.

The lawsuit alleges the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Interior Department illegally ignored Freedom of Information Act requests for documents related to the issue.

Trump said last week he intends to shrink two monuments in Utah – Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, according to Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch.

Associated Press