As you might know, on June 14, 2016, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) reported that its computer systems were hacked by unknown intruders. The DNC blamed Russian military operatives for the theft of its computer files. On Tuesday, June 21, 2016, an individual using the handle “Guccifer 2.0” posted some of the stolen files on the Internet. “Guccifer 2.0” states that he is not a Russian operative and that he operated alone. CrowdStrike, the security firm hired by the DNC to protect it against further hacker attacks, continues to maintain that it was Russian military-sponsored hackers that stole the files. Almost 300 files (Excel, Word and PDFs) were released by “Guccifer 2.0,” who posted that the files were from the DNC hack. Most of the files contained information about Hillary Clinton.
The complete file set, that has already been released, is almost 100MB large. Even zipped up, it is still about 80MB in size. For that reason, I have not uploaded them for you to download. However, if you want a copy of the files, contact me and I will send you a link to download the zipped files from DropBox.
I have looked over the files and today I would like to share some of the items that caught my attention.
As expected, there are numerous donor lists containing contact information on over 1,000 individuals, including amounts and contact information.
There is also a March 17, 2016 Excel spreadsheet that appears to contain a list of about 1,720 email addresses along with metrics such as telephone numbers, whether the email belongs to a woman or if it is associated to some type of labor group. The list appears to contain contact information for PAC money sources. Facebook, Google, Netflix and other large politically-active companies are included. Obviously labor organizations are well represented. I am sure this doesn’t surprise you but what caught my attention is the unsophisticated technology used to gather and maintain email addresses for email blasts. It is not like the DNC is managing an El Paso city council race. I would have assumed that the DNC would have a much better contact management system in place.
I realize that the spreadsheet might have been an export for one user to use. However, would it stand to reason that a contact manager would be much better suited for sorting and sending email blasts? The records would be cleanly managed and historical information of sent emails would allow for a more efficient email list.
I was half-tempted to create a searchable list of contacts and make it available online because to be honest, it makes me angry that entities such as the DNC so haphazardly keep private contact details where it can be abused. I am sure that those on the list are already being spammed or getting telemarketing calls on their personal phones, thanks to the DNC’s inability to secure its computer files properly.
For that reason, I did not want to add to their misery so I didn’t create the database.
A two-page Word document marked “confidential” and named “clinton_plans” contains a list of reasons why Hillary Clinton should be president. I am sure you have heard all of the talking point so I won’t bore you with the details. However, I found this section interesting:
“FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT
It would be an honor to be the first woman President. Of course it would. And it would be an even greater honor to be the President who makes being middle class mean something again and who builds an economy where we measure our strength by how many families get ahead, not just by how much CEOs and big corporations are earning.”
Another Word document, this one marked “secret” is about 60 pages and it contains talking points for Clinton. The section on Mexico had two interesting things:
“We have a shared responsibility with Mexico and other nations in the region to battle both the supply and demand ends of the illegal drug trade,” and,
“Take on the Mexican drug cartels in partnership with Mexico and other nations in the region.”
Under “terrorism” there is a sentence that suggests that the US should “invest” $5 billion, over three years “to improve counter-terrorism cooperation between U.S. and foreign intelligence and law enforcement agencies.”
According to the footnotes, much of the concepts come from Barack Obama comments made to the national media or via speeches.
A May 26, 2015 memorandum details a planned strategy to use against the GOP presidential candidates. Obviously, the plan is to weaken the GOP candidates. Interestingly, Donald Trump was not on that list. According to the memorandum, the “operational strategy” is to “use the field as a whole to inflict damage on itself similar to what happened to Mitt Romney in 2012”. The plan was to use the lesser-known candidates, instead of marginalizing them in order to “make them more ‘Pied Piper’ candidates who actually represent the mainstream of the Republican Party”.
The planned tactics were “reporter outreach,” “releases and social media” and “bracketing events.”
Probably the most interesting document is “The Residence bullets”. Apparently it is a bullet list of quotes from Kate Anderson Bower’s 2015 book, “The Residence”. Obviously the Monica Lewinsky affair has some interesting things. Here are a few selections for your review.
“The Clintons Spent Roughly $400,000 Redecorating The White House, All Financed By Private Donations. But The Effort Raised Some Eyebrows, Both Within And Outside The Mansion.” “The Clintons spent roughly $400,000 redecorating the White House, all financed by private donations. But the effort raised some eyebrows, both within and outside the mansion. Even the normally discreet residence workers have called Hockersmith’s efforts disorganized, her expectations too high.”
White House Chief Electrician Cliber Said That Out Of The Nine Transitions He Worked, “The Clintons’ Arrival Was By Far The Most Difficult.” “Chief Electrician Bill Cliber, who worked on nine transitions, said that the Clintons’ arrival was by far the most difficult. Shortly before the inauguration, Hockersmith told him that he and the other electricians needed to rehang seven chandeliers—now. ‘Why does it have to be done now? Let them move in and we’ll do it one a day,’ said Cliber. ‘No, they want them all changed before they come in the door,’ she replied. Cliber had no choice. He went to the second-floor Treaty Room, which Clinton would use as a private study, to start work on one of the chandeliers.”
On The Day She Moved Into The White House, Hillary Clinton “Stormed Out” Of The Treaty Room After The White House Electrician Took Too Long To Fulfill Her Demand Of Immediately Replacing Seven Antique Chandeliers. “Almost as soon as the Clintons returned from the inaugural parade, Hillary appeared in the Treaty Room. ‘How long are you going to be in this room?’ she asked Cliber. ‘Truthfully, I’m looking at maybe four hours,’ he told her as he handled the elaborate crystal chandelier that was dismantled on the floor. ‘Hmm, we’ll see about that,’ she said, and stormed out. Hockersmith poked her head in and told him to leave the room within twenty minutes. Cliber said he’d need more time just to collect the hundreds and hundreds of priceless crystals strewn about the floor. She replied: ‘Don’t worry about it. They can be replaced.’ ‘No, ma’am. This is crystal that can’t be replaced,’ he told her indignantly. Cliber did as he was told, leaving the Treaty Room a mess with crystals everywhere. But he wasn’t about to let the first lady, or her decorator, have the final word. Chief Curator Rex Scouten (who was well respected on the staff and had been an usher and then chief usher from 1969 to 1986 before he took the job as curator) locked the door to protect the chandelier until Cliber could get back to work. The electrician wasn’t allowed back in the room for three weeks.”
At The White House, Bill And Hillary Clinton “Sometimes Got Into Pitched Battles, Shocking The Staff With Their Vicious Cursing, And Sometimes They Went Through Periods Of Stony Silence.” “The Clintons were her favorite family to serve. She said they were the most passionate first couple, their infamous ups and downs playing out in the private quarters. During the Clinton era, Limerick recalls, working at the White House was a roller-coaster ride. The couple sometimes got into pitched battles, shocking the staff with their vicious cursing, and sometimes they went through periods of stony silence. During happier times, though, they were liable to wander around the residence late at night when they couldn’t sleep, chatting giddily and marveling at the house.”
The Clintons “Changed The White House Phone System…To Ensure That No One Could Listen In On Their Private Conversations—A Move That Frustrated The Ushers, Who Had A Trusted System In Place For The Purpose Of Directing Calls.” “In a house where even a minor bit of gossip could make national headlines, Bill and Hillary Clinton had a difficult time learning to trust the staff. The reason they changed the White House phone system was to ensure that no one could listen in on their private conversations—a move that frustrated the ushers, who had a trusted system in place for the purpose of directing calls.”
“The Clintons, [White House Usher] Allen Said, Decided That ‘Too Many People Could Listen In On Them’ Under The Old Phone System, So They Had All The White House Phones Changed Over To Interior Circuitry” Meaning They Could Communicate “Without Going Through The Operator.” “The Clintons, Allen said, decided that ‘too many people could listen in on them’ under the old phone system, so they had all the White House phones changed over to interior circuitry so that if the first lady was in the bedroom and the president was in the study she could ring him from room to room without going through the operator. ‘That kind of negated the security of the phone system. Then anybody could pick up upstairs in any room,’ Allen said, still exasperated by the change.”
“The Clintons’ Preoccupation With Secrecy Made Relations With The Staff ‘Chaotic’ For Their Entire Eight Years In Office.” “The Clintons’ preoccupation with secrecy made relations with the staff ‘chaotic’ for their entire eight years in office, Allen said. At least one residence worker, Florist Wendy Elsasser, attributes their anxiety to parental concerns: ‘I think protecting Chelsea may have had a lot to do with, for lack of a better term, their standoffishness with the staff.’”
“According To [White House Usher] Skip Allen, The Clintons Weren’t Always Consistent In Their Requests. ‘When They Asked For Something And You Gave It To Them, It Wasn’t What They Really Wanted,’ Allen Said.” “According to Skip Allen, the Clintons weren’t always consistent in their requests. ‘When they asked for something and you gave it to them, it wasn’t what they really wanted,’ Allen said. ‘They didn’t know how to ask for exactly what they wanted, so they kept asking for things they thought they’d like but didn’t.’ Allen remembers one phone call from Hillary Clinton. The kitchen had brought out a particular chicken dish too often, she said, and she wanted the chef to stop serving it. ‘So I called the chef and I told him we have to take the chicken dish off the menu, that they didn’t want it anymore. And a couple of months later I get a call from the first lady saying, ‘Ask the chef, how come he never serves that chicken dish we like so much?’’ He exhaled loudly. ‘That’s the way it went for eight years.’”
White House Residence Staff Suspected Hillary Clinton Threw A Book At Bill Clinton’s Head “Shortly After The President’s Affair With A White House Intern Became Public Knowledge.” “There was blood all over the president and first lady’s bed. A member of the residence staff got a frantic call from the maid who found the mess. Someone needed to come quickly and inspect the damage. The blood was Bill Clinton’s. The president had to get several stitches to his head. He insisted that he’d hurt himself running into the bathroom door in the middle of the night. But not everyone was convinced. ‘We’re pretty sure she clocked him with a book,’ one worker said. And who would know better than the residence staff? The incident came shortly after the president’s affair with a White House intern became public knowledge—clearly a time of crisis in the Clintons’ marriage. And there were at least twenty books on the bedside table for his betrayed wife to choose from, including the Bible.”
White House Staff Witnessed Hillary Clinton Throw A Book Out Of Her Bedroom After The President Asked For It. “After the holidays, the staffer said, the president desperately wanted to retrieve a book from the Clintons’ bedroom, but the first lady was not yet dressed, and no one wanted to disturb her. ‘Betty Currie [the president’s secretary] called the valet, and he came to me and asked me if I’d go in and I said, ‘No way,’’ the worker recalls. (When the door to the first couple’s bedroom is shut, it is the equivalent of a DO NOT DISTURB sign on a hotel door.) ‘Finally, I think Betty Currie called Mrs. Clinton directly.’ Moments later, a book came flying out of their bedroom. Hillary had hurled it into the hallway. The president’s valet picked it up and brought it to Currie. It’s not certain whether the book the first lady threw out of their bedroom was the same book that the president gave Lewinsky, but the staffer’s memories paint a picture of the tension.”
Residence Staff “Heard The First Lady Bellow ‘Goddamn Bastard!’ At The President—And Then He Heard Someone Throw A Heavy Object Across The Room. The Rumor Among The Staff Was That She Threw A Lamp.” “Florist Ronn Payne remembers one day when he was coming up the service elevator with a cart to pick up old floral arrangements and saw two butlers gathered outside the West Sitting Hall listening in as the Clintons argued viciously with each other. The butlers motioned him over and put their fingers to their lips, telling him to be quiet. All of a sudden he heard the first lady bellow ‘goddamn bastard!’ at the president—and then he heard someone throw a heavy object across the room. The rumor among the staff was that she threw a lamp. The butlers, Payne said, were told to clean up the mess. In an interview with Barbara Walters, Mrs. Clinton made light of the story, which had made its way into the gossip columns. ‘I have a pretty good arm,’ she said. ‘If I’d thrown a lamp at somebody, I think you would have known about it.’”
“Some On The Staff Have Said That Hillary Knew About Lewinsky Long Before It Came Out, And That What Really Upset Her Was Not The Affair Itself But Its Discovery And The Media Feeding Frenzy That Followed.”
White House Usher On The Clintons: “They Were About The Most Paranoid People I’d Ever Seen In My Life.” “Allen cannot hide his reservations about the Clintons. Over lunch by the pool at his large home in rural Pennsylvania, he fondly recalled how Mrs. Clinton always asked him to help her by tying bows on her outfits, something she couldn’t do herself. But he said the Clintons never fully trusted the residence staff and were particularly suspicious of the Usher’s Office. ‘They were about the most paranoid people I’d ever seen in my life.’”
Finally, one other file that has been released is the Donald Trump opposition report. The 200-page+ report outlines the DNC’s response to Trump’s presidential ambitions. I’ll also make a copy available to you, if you want one. Just send me an email or use the contact form to request a copy.
Life is already a bitch. No reason to vote for one.
Martin, does it not bother you just a little bit that you are posting information from stolen files and offering to share stolen files? Yes, they are now on the Internet for everyone to see and share. The bulk of of you post today is just a repost of copyrighted material that no one but the publisher would probably take issue with. But the publicity and further dissemination of information not in the public domain is what hackers live for. You are contributing to the problem by covering it in this level of detail and offering to share files. I agree reporting on the extent of the breach and the stupidity of the DNC makes sense. But offering to share information on donors or opposition research crosses a line.
The files we can’t wait to see is the 12,000 file Russia has and has claimed it will make public from “The Hill’s” private e-mail server. You know the one “The Hill” started out claiming was not hacked.