President Barack Obama is laying down the law with an iron fist as it was just reported that he imposed sanctions on Russia as punishment for allegedly interfering with the election.
Word on the street has been that Russia was behind the email leaks that may have cost Hillary Clinton the Oval Office. It was alleged that Vladimir Putin worked with hackers to make sure Donald Trump secured the presidency.
Of course Putin and the Russian government denied the accusations but that didn’t stop POTUS from handing out punishments anyway.
The Obama Administration accused 35 Russian “intelligence operatives” of “acting in a manner inconsistent with their diplomatic or consular status” and declared them “persona non grata”, giving them and their families 72 hours to leave the country. The administration also claimed that Russia has been using police to harass overseas U.S. diplomats as well as leaking personal data that would put them at risk.
The Obama administration struck back at Russia on Thursday, imposing sanctions against its intelligence apparatus and expelling 35 diplomats in retaliation for the alleged orchestration of hacking attacks designed to interfere in the presidential election.
The sweeping actions, outlined by the White House three weeks before the new administration takes office, include:
- Shutting down two compounds, one in Maryland and one in New York, “used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes.”
- Sanctions against the GRU, the Russian military intelligence service, and the FSB, the spy agency that succeeded the KGB, and four high-ranking officers of the GRU.
- Sanctions against two suspected hackers, both wanted by the FBI in earlier cybercrime cases, and three companies that allegedly provided support to the GRU’s cyber operations.
- Releasing technical information about Russian cyber activity, “to help network defenders in the United States and abroad identify, detect, and disrupt Russia’s global campaign of malicious cyber activities.”
Obama’s statement said the U.S. had declared 35 Russian “intelligence operatives” persona non grata. The State Department said the 35 are diplomats “who were acting in a manner inconsistent with their diplomatic or consular status” and also accused Russia of harassing U.S. diplomats overseas with arbitrary police stops, physical assaults and the release of personal details putting them at risk.
As of noon on Friday, the U.S. also will bar Russian access to two Moscow-owned “recreational compounds,” the White House said. A 45-acre property at Pioneer Point in Maryland was purchased by the Soviet government in 1972, and the 14-acre property on New York’s Long Island was purchased by the Soviet government in 1954.
“As we said before, we consider such a decision and such sanctions groundless and illegitimate from the point of view of international law,” Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Interfax news agency.
This news comes just three weeks before Obama is to leave the office.
The Russian Embassy has since responded to the sanctions with petty but alarming tweets that threaten retaliation
This look like it could get pretty ugly. We will keep you updated on this story!
TSR STAFF: Debra Oh! @The_Ebony_Issue
Source: https://www.google.com/amp/www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amp/u-s-unveils-plan-punish-russians-election-hack-n701236
