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Inside Mueller's New Army
Inside Mueller’s New Army
As the special counsel zeroes in on Russia’s online arsonists, he’s brought in a new crew of cyberspy fighters—and a straight-up street crime prosecutor, too.
Betsy Woodruff
07.11.18 5:01 AM ET
snip//
In the past six months, the number of prosecutors working on cases he has brought has expanded significantly, with new additions casting light on the special counsel’s potential priorities and focuses. Court filings show that at least half a dozen new names are participating in Mueller’s work, all current Justice Department prosecutors. Their backgrounds vary widely, from prosecuting violent crimes to cyber attacks.
snip//
Ryan Kao Dickey
Of all of Mueller’s new prosecutors, Dickey—who joined the special counsel’s team last November—may have the experience that hits closest to home: He worked on the prosecution of Romanian hacker Marcel Lazar Lehel, known as Guccifer. Lehel hacked Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime confidante and ally of Hillary Clinton, and released emails showing she had used a private email address as secretary of state. His victims also included former secretary of state Colin Powell, Daily Beast founder Tina Brown, and actor Jeffrey Tambor. After Guccifer’s incarceration—a judge sentenced him to 52 months in prison—another hacker took up his mantle, going by the moniker Guccifer 2.0 and targeting the Democratic National Committee in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. The Daily Beast reported exclusively in March that Guccifer 2.0, who communicated with Trump ally Roger Stone and took credit for giving the hacked DNC emails to Wikileaks, is actually a Russian intelligence officer.
“He’s young,” said defense attorney Edward MacMahon of Dickey, “but he’s obviously very steeped in the world of the internet. He’s very steeped in everything going on with computer intrusions and how that works.”
MacMahon, who has squared up against Dickey in court, said the prosecutor is an expert in all things cyber.
“He doesn’t play games,” MacMahon said.
Timothy Belevetz, who worked alongside Dickey as an assistant U.S. attorney for a time, said he has “a fairly relaxed and personable style.”
Dickey is working on the prosecution of the Internet Research Agency, a Russian troll farm that sowed division in the American electorate during the 2016 campaign.
Of all of Mueller’s new prosecutors, Dickey—who joined the special counsel’s team last November—may have the experience that hits closest to home: He worked on the prosecution of Romanian hacker Marcel Lazar Lehel, known as Guccifer. Lehel hacked Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime confidante and ally of Hillary Clinton, and released emails showing she had used a private email address as secretary of state. His victims also included former secretary of state Colin Powell, Daily Beast founder Tina Brown, and actor Jeffrey Tambor. After Guccifer’s incarceration—a judge sentenced him to 52 months in prison—another hacker took up his mantle, going by the moniker Guccifer 2.0 and targeting the Democratic National Committee in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. The Daily Beast reported exclusively in March that Guccifer 2.0, who communicated with Trump ally Roger Stone and took credit for giving the hacked DNC emails to Wikileaks, is actually a Russian intelligence officer.
“He’s young,” said defense attorney Edward MacMahon of Dickey, “but he’s obviously very steeped in the world of the internet. He’s very steeped in everything going on with computer intrusions and how that works.”
MacMahon, who has squared up against Dickey in court, said the prosecutor is an expert in all things cyber.
“He doesn’t play games,” MacMahon said.
Timothy Belevetz, who worked alongside Dickey as an assistant U.S. attorney for a time, said he has “a fairly relaxed and personable style.”
“They’ve got their core group of prosecutors who are working for the SC, then they brought Ryan on, I suspect, because of his background with computer crimes issues, cyber issues,” Belevetz said. “I don’t know all the evidence the government has or all the facts of the case, but my guess is that there is some significant component of computer use that relates to the alleged offenses that they believe he would have some special background and some special skills regarding.”
Dickey is working on the prosecution of the Internet Research Agency, a Russian troll farm that sowed division in the American electorate during the 2016 campaign.
more...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-muellers-new-army?ref=home
7 replies
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but I'm not sure what Dems can do about that with the Repuke Congress sitting on it's ass.
You're probably right about the need for More Noise from Dems..As you said, it could at least renew the focus..
Trump is right now in the process of destroying the Western Alliance and the Silence is DEAFENING, I agree..
One can't help but wonder what's going on 