So how did WikiLeaks get the DNC emails? The DNC-Russian hacking analysis remains incomplete. One thing is certain. The United States intelligence community does not know how WikiLeaks received the Democratic National Committee emails. Former President Obama confessed as much in his last press conference:
The conclusions of the intelligence community with respect to the Russian hacking were not conclusive as to whether WikiLeaks was witting or not in being the conduit through which we heard about the DNC e-mails that were leaked.
How Did WikiLeaks Get the DNC Emails?- Electronic Transmission
If the Russians electronically transmitted emails to WikiLeaks, it is reasonable to conclude that the National Security Agency (NSA) knows it. It may even be likely that the NSA knows it. Here’s the analysis.
The NSA is Likely Authorized to Intercept Julian Assange and WikiLeaks
We don’t know whether the National Security Agency is specifically authorized to intercept information to and/or from WikiLeaks. But there are very strong inferences. In 2010, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court authorized the NSA to intercept information in all but four foreign countries (Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand). The order include certain foreign factions and foreign organizations. The order did not specifically include WikiLeaks.
More importantly, the NSA is regularly authorized to collect emails of certain “foreign targets.” The 2010 affidavit of Keith Alexander, then-Director of the NSA, states that foreign targets are those who “possess, are expected to receive and/or are likely to communicate foreign intelligence information concerning these foreign powers.” We suggest that this broad language covers the activities of Mr. Assange and WikiLeaks. Accordingly, it is entirely possible (if not likely) that the NSA approved Mr. Assange and WikiLeaks as foreign targets.
How Did WikiLeaks Get the DNC Emails? – Direct Transmission to Julian Assange
It is highly unlikely that the Russians would electronically transfer directly to Mr. Assange. Nevertheless, we walk through a simple analysis regarding that possibility. Mr. Assange currently resides in the Embassy of Ecuador in London. Embassies are sovereign territory of the subject country. The FISA order would permit the NSA to intercept information to and from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. We do not know whether there is a subsequent FISA order that specifically encompasses WikiLeaks and/or Mr. Assange directly. Nevertheless, the initial 2010 order may suffice.
In October, 2016, WikiLeaks tweeted that “Julian Assange’s internet leak has been intentionally severed by a state party.” We suggest the state party was the U.S. government. If true, this would confirm that the U.S. is monitoring electronic transmissions to Mr. Assange. One day later, the Ecuadorian government cut Mr. Assange’s internet access.
Given all of this information, the NSA would likely have intercepted direct electronic transmissions to Mr. Assange. So how did WikiLeaks get the DNC emails? It certainly wasn’t the result of a direct electronic submission by the Russians to Mr. Assange. The NSA would know if it was. And the U.S. government report would have said so.
How Did WikiLeaks Get the DNC Emails? – Direct Transmission to WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks apparently has servers across the world, specifically including Sweden. Formerly, it utilized the internet hosting company PRG in Sweden. More recently, it was utilizing the Swedish company Bahnhof. We assume that the NSA would know the location of all servers used by WikiLeaks. To the extent that it does, it would know whether the Russians (and/or third parties on behalf of the Russians) electronically transferred information to WikiLeaks. Therefore, our working premise is that the NSA would be able to trace any electronic submission to WikiLeaks.
The Russians Did Not Electronically Transmit to WikiLeaks
It is certainly reasonable, if not probable, to conclude that the NSA is intercepting electronic communications to Assange and WikiLeaks. Therefore, if the Russians hacked the DNC and electronically transmitted the information to WikiLeaks, the NSA would know it. Yet, the U.S. intelligence report contains no such information or any such proof. The strong inference from the evidence is that the Russians did not electronically transmit DNC emails to WikiLeaks.
Of course, the Russians likely know whether the NSA is intercepting electronic transmissions to WikiLeaks. If that is the case, it is very unlikely that the Russians (or their proxies) electronically transferred hacked emails to WikiLeaks.
WikiLeaks Must Have Received Emails By Courier
If the DNC emails were not electronically transmitted to WikiLeaks, then we are left with the traditional means of transferring information. Direct human contact. By inference, the U.S. government is unable to prove how and when this transmission occurred. This is the case whether the Russians were the source of the emails or not. How did WikiLeaks get the DNC emails? It must have been by courier.
Did the Russians Hack the DNC? – Uncertainy Created by President Obama
We return to where we started this comment, with former President Obama. Here’s what he said, but with emphasis we’ve added:
The conclusions of the intelligence community with respect to the Russian hacking were not conclusive as to whether WikiLeaks was witting or not in being the conduit through which we heard about the DNC e-mails that were leaked.
Was it a leak and not a hack? Was President Obama telling us something important that the press missed? Is this just a slip-of-the-tongue? Or was it a window into the truth?
To state the obvious, other than initial prepared remarks, a press conference is unscripted. Words are not preselected. The speaker transfers thoughts without filtering. The speaker has a limited ability to filter while conveying a series of thoughts. This comment by President Obama occurred almost eight minutes into the press conference. We do not believe that he chooses words randomly or imprecisely.
President Obama certainly knows the difference between a hack and a leak. They are very different acts undertaken in very different ways. We discuss that difference here. Indeed, if the intelligence community definitively determined that DNC emails were hacked, then why would President Obama have the thought of a “leak” in his head? We suggest he would not, unless he had a reason(s) for having that thought in his mind.
No one at that press conference picked up the President’s comment. No one followed up. And no one has followed up as of this writing. Is there more to come?
