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Assange's denials about Russia's involvement aren't credible on its face. The question is whether Russia hacked the DNC emails that Assange published. Assange f

Assange's denials about Russia's involvement aren't credible on its face. The question is whether Russia hacked the DNC emails that Assange published. Assange fundamentally has no knowledge of the origin of the emails as the final stop in potentially multi-person hand off. The only way he could know Russia didn't hack the emails was if he was standing over the shoulder of the person who did. It is like a Tor exit node claiming to know the origin of a communication. It fundamentally is unable to determine that information without a side channel, which in this case would indicate collusion with the hackers.

dencodev 6y ago
You're missing the other obvious answer: he got the emails from someone directly at the DNC who wouldn't need a hacker. Assange has mentioned and discuss Seth Rich multiple times with the implication that he's somehow tied to work at Wikileaks. Even if it wasn't Seth, there are a lot of people who could have given him those emails other than hackers.
- hackinthebochs 6y ago
  The thing is, we know the DNC was hacked. We know that Podesta was a victim of spear phishing. The timing of the attack also lines up with the release of emails. While the possibility is non-zero that an insider gave Assange the emails, it requires far too many unexplained coincidences to be believable.
  - jessaustin 6y ago
    Can we really imagine that only Russian spies could have sent this email? [0] There is nothing personal in it other than his name, "John". I'm not sure this even deserves the adjective "spear"... Podesta's emails are evidence of DNC rigging the primary against Bernie, but they are not evidence of Russian hacking. [0] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-phishing-email-that-hacked-the-account-of-john-podesta/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-phishing-email-that-hacked-...
    - hackinthebochs 6y ago
      You seem to be confused about what this thread was discussing. The question was whether Assange received the emails from an insider or a third party. Who actually did the phising is a separate concern. That said, considering the context of the election, Trumps close ties with Russia and Russian agents, and the broad and multifaceted attempts at hacking the election attributed to Russia (disinformation farms, hacking state election networks), it is very likely that Russia was also behind the DNC hack. These weak attempts at casting doubt on Russia's involvement are transparent.
      - deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
      - jessaustin 6y ago
        You, directly above: We know that Podesta was a victim of spear phishing. You, directly above that: Assange's denials about Russia's involvement aren't credible on its face. Yeah, I'm confused. This is all beside the point. It is lawful to publish true information about candidates that is of interest to the public.
        hackinthebochs 6y ago
        It turns out you need context to understand the meaning of words. If you keep reading, you will see the rest of that context. I wasn't saying "it is obviously false that Russia didn't hack the DNC", I was saying that "Assange cannot claim to know Russia didn't hack the DNC [unless he was involved directly]". See the difference?
        Balgair 6y ago
        As of 19:23 UTC, the poster's profile's 'About' section only lists: " "obvious troll" ".
        jessaustin 6y ago
        19:23?!? Oh shit, dude, you caught me! I had so meant to change that sometime in the last three years! After all, HN people can't be expected to understand a joke in any context!

dencodev 6y ago

You're missing the other obvious answer: he got the emails from someone directly at the DNC who wouldn't need a hacker. Assange has mentioned and discuss Seth Rich multiple times with the implication that he's somehow tied to work at Wikileaks. Even if it wasn't Seth, there are a lot of people who could have given him those emails other than hackers.

hackinthebochs 6y ago
The thing is, we know the DNC was hacked. We know that Podesta was a victim of spear phishing. The timing of the attack also lines up with the release of emails. While the possibility is non-zero that an insider gave Assange the emails, it requires far too many unexplained coincidences to be believable.
- jessaustin 6y ago
  Can we really imagine that only Russian spies could have sent this email? [0] There is nothing personal in it other than his name, "John". I'm not sure this even deserves the adjective "spear"... Podesta's emails are evidence of DNC rigging the primary against Bernie, but they are not evidence of Russian hacking. [0] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-phishing-email-that-hacked-the-account-of-john-podesta/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-phishing-email-that-hacked-...
  - hackinthebochs 6y ago
    You seem to be confused about what this thread was discussing. The question was whether Assange received the emails from an insider or a third party. Who actually did the phising is a separate concern. That said, considering the context of the election, Trumps close ties with Russia and Russian agents, and the broad and multifaceted attempts at hacking the election attributed to Russia (disinformation farms, hacking state election networks), it is very likely that Russia was also behind the DNC hack. These weak attempts at casting doubt on Russia's involvement are transparent.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - jessaustin 6y ago
      You, directly above: We know that Podesta was a victim of spear phishing. You, directly above that: Assange's denials about Russia's involvement aren't credible on its face. Yeah, I'm confused. This is all beside the point. It is lawful to publish true information about candidates that is of interest to the public.
      - hackinthebochs 6y ago
        It turns out you need context to understand the meaning of words. If you keep reading, you will see the rest of that context. I wasn't saying "it is obviously false that Russia didn't hack the DNC", I was saying that "Assange cannot claim to know Russia didn't hack the DNC [unless he was involved directly]". See the difference?
      - Balgair 6y ago
        As of 19:23 UTC, the poster's profile's 'About' section only lists: " "obvious troll" ".
        jessaustin 6y ago
        19:23?!? Oh shit, dude, you caught me! I had so meant to change that sometime in the last three years! After all, HN people can't be expected to understand a joke in any context!