John Durham Reportedly Investigating 2016 DNC Phantom Server “Hack”

The 2016 hack of the DNC computers, if it was a hack remains a mystery right up until today. But, the accusation of a connection between Alpha bank and President Trump is not. The FBI, Robert Mueller, and the DOJ all concluded there was no connection between the two. Indeed, Michael Sussmann has been indicted for lying to the FBI about it.

There is a connection between the 2016 hack of the DNC computers and the Alpha bank hoax. His name is Georgia Tech’s Manos Antonakakis. He did the research for both incidents. He also worked with another Georgia Tech employee, Rodney Joffe, who passed on the Alpha bank story to Michael Sussmann, who then passed it on to the FBI.

But, there is a question as to whether the DNC computers were actually hacked or whether it was an inside job. The FBI reported that there was a hack and they put the blame on the Russians. This does not appear to be feasible inasmuch as the FBI never had the servers in their possession and therefore could not have possibly traced the hack to the Russians. But, the DNC claimed that they did give access to CrowdStrike and they concluded the hack came from the Russians.

But, is that true? CrowdStrike President Shawn Henry’s admission to Congress under oath, in December of 2017 makes for interesting reading:

Henry reiterated his claim on multiple occasions:

• “There are times when we can see data exfiltrated, and we can say conclusively. But in this case it appears it was set up to be exfiltrated, but we just don’t have the evidence that says it actually left.”

• “There’s not evidence that they were actually exfiltrated. There’s circumstantial evidence but no evidence that they were actually exfiltrated.”

• “There is circumstantial evidence that that data was exfiltrated off the network. … We didn’t have a sensor in place that saw data leave. We said that the data left based on the circumstantial evidence. That was the conclusion that we made.”

• “Sir, I was just trying to be factually accurate, that we didn’t see the data leave, but we believe it left, based on what we saw.”
• Asked directly if he could “unequivocally say” whether “it was or was not exfiltrated out of DNC,” Henry told the committee: “I can’t say based on that.”

Then there is the theory that Seth Rich, a Bernie backer stole the emails and gave them to WikiLeaks. The FBI originally said they never investigated the matter. But, later it was revealed that they had confiscated Rich’s computers. They still have them, but refuse to turn them or the information over to any investigative body. If Rich had nothing to do with the leak, there can be only one explanation for not turning them over. They only contain personal information and communications. But, if that were the case, the FBI would be bound by the law to return them to his family.

At this point, I would say there really isn’t any conspiracy theories on either side, just possibilities. We will just have to wait and see if John Durham uncovers anything one way or another.