The massive and months-long “SolarWinds” hack of more than 250 federal agencies and private businesses was “likely Russian in origin,” according to a joint statement from top U.S. Intelligence Agencies, including the FBI, released Tuesday. The statement definitively contrasts with President Donald Trump’s claims recently that it could have been perpetrated by China.

….discussing the possibility that it may be China (it may!). There could also have been a hit on our ridiculous voting machines during the election, which is now obvious that I won big, making it an even more corrupted embarrassment for the USA. @DNI_Ratcliffe @SecPompeo

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2020

Calling the hack an “intelligence gathering effort” – which is the very definition of espionage –  the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and the National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) say “that an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor, likely Russian in origin, is responsible for most or all of the recently discovered, ongoing cyber compromises of both government and non-governmental networks.”

Ironically, perhaps, the statement begins by saying it is being made on “behalf of President Trump.”

It also makes clear the hack was a “serious compromise.”

The statement claims the hack affected fewer than ten agencies, which appears to deviate from earlier reports.

Cleta Mitchell, a conservative attorney and activist who assisted President Donald Trump during his call to the Georgia Secretary of State during which he tried to overturn the results of the election has resigned from Foley & Lardner, the prestigious “white shoe” law firm at which she was a partner.

In a letter to clients Mitchell claimed there had been “a massive pressure campaign in the last several days mounted by leftist groups via social media and other means against me, my law firm, and clients of the law firm, because of my personal involvement with President Trump, his campaign and the White House,” the Washington Examiner reports.

Mitchell has a long history of working against LGBTQ people, Democrats, and of working to gin up false claims of voter fraud, which often are attempts to disenfranchise minority groups. Ironically, Mitchell appeared at the White House alongside President Trump (photo) last August to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote – something her activism works to block.

She is the Chairperson of the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), which Reuters reports said was part of a group “determined to push back on what she called a ‘very well-planned-out assault’ by Democrats and progressives to manipulate the system by attempting to change the rules on counting ballots after Election Day,” which is false.

Foley & Lardner, ranked 59th among U.S. law firms, distanced itself from Mitchell after news broke of her involvement with Trump’s possibly illegal phone call.

“We are aware of, and are concerned by, Ms. Mitchell’s participation in the January 2 conference call and are working to understand her involvement more thoroughly,” the firm said in a statement Monday.

By Tuesday she was gone from Foley & Lardner, which even scrubbed her bio from its online directory.

This is a breaking news and developing story. Details may change. 

Image: Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour via Flickr 

In August, police shot 29-year-old African American Jacob Blake in the back seven times while he opened his car door to get something. Police had a hold of Blake’s shirt and was pulling him toward the officers when he fired the shots. Blake had three of his sons in the back seat at the time. Blake was paralyzed by those shots in his back.

Still, despite the shooting being caught on video, Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley said that he would not prosecute the police who fired those seven shots into Blake’s back.

The state has already called in the National Guard, assuming that there will be a significant protest after the announcement that the DA wouldn’t file charges.

Police claimed that they thought Blake had a weapon on him, a frequently used excuse by police for the reason that they shoot unarmed people.

Read the full report.