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It’s hard to overstate just how close Trump and Stone have been over the years. Their professional and personal relationship goes back more than three decades. Trump without Stone is akin to George W. Bush without Karl Rove or Barack Obama without David Axelrod. Though Trump has derided Stone to reporters in the past — “Roger is a stone-cold loser,” he told The New Yorker in 2008, “he always tries taking credit for things he never did” — the two men have always made up after such occasional spats, and a permanent split would be stunning.

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In 1988, Stone wanted Trump to run for president and arranged for him to give a speech at the Portsmouth, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, which garnered enormous media coverage. Stone says some of his friends in the state organized a short-lived “Draft Trump” movement, but within a few weeks, Trump had determined he would forgo a run to focus on his business career.

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/422353/donald-trumps-departed-top-adviser-speaks-out-jim-geraghty

Russian bank threatens researcher with CFAA suit over DNS request data

In a document obtained by CyberScoop, Alfa Bank notified Indiana University computer researcher L. Jean Camp that it’s pursuing “all available options” after Camp’s research suggested the bank engaged in some form of communication with the Trump Organization. Washington-based law firm Kirkland & Ellis sent the letter on the bank’s behalf on March 17.

Among the options listed is litigation under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act’s civil action provision, which allows companies to sue for damages in the event of unauthorized computer access. Foreign entities can bring cases to U.S. federal courts under a CFAA provision that allows private causes of action.

Camp’s research has pointed to Alfa Bank’s servers making an unusually high amount of DNS lookups to Trump Organization servers, particularly during a period of time in the summer of 2016. The possible connection was first revealed in October by Slate, but the bank claimed the most likely explanation was spam marketing due to bank executives’ use of Trump hotels.

More: https://www.cyberscoop.com/alfa-bank-l-jean-camp-donald-trump-cfaa-suit-dns-data/

FBI Director Comey confirms the bureau is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election

By Ellen Nakashima and Karoun Demirjian March 20 at 10:50 AM

FBI Director James B. Comey acknowledged on Monday the existence of a counterintelligence investigation into the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 election, and said that probe extends to the nature of any links between Trump campaign associates and the Russian government.

Testifying before the House Intelligence Committee, Comey said the investigation is also exploring whether there was any coordination between the campaign and the Kremlin, and “whether any crimes were committed.”

The acknowledgment was an unusual move, given that the FBI’s practice is not to confirm the existence of ongoing investigations. “But in unusual circumstances, where it is in the public interest,” Comey said, “it may be appropriate to do so.”

Comey said he had been authorized by the Justice Department to confirm the wide-ranging probe’s existence.

Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-director-to-testify-on-russian-interference-in-the-presidential-election/2017/03/20/cdea86ca-0ce2-11e7-9d5a-a83e627dc120_story.html?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.948f29dd1c25

Comey Confirms F.B.I. Investigation of Russian Election Interference, Links to Trump Campaign

■ James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, confirmed an F.B.I. investigation into Russia’s meddling in the election.

■ The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence convened on Monday for the first public hearing on Russia’s efforts to influence the election.

■ The hearing’s featured witnesses: the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, and Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/20/us/politics/intelligence-committee-russia-donald-trump.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share