New Emails Raise Questions About Defense Involvement In Spygate

After spending weeks dismissing concerns about its work with Russia hoax-connected researchers, a newly discovered email from The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to a Georgia Tech researcher with the subject line "Mueller case" casts doubt on DARPA's denials.

According to his email, Antonakakis told DeFilippis that was "a question for DARPA's director." As I reported at the time, this represented "a seeming confirmation that DARPA had, as the special counsel's question presumed, directed Antonakakis to investigate who bore responsibility for the DNC hack, although it is unclear whether Antonakakis' task concerned solely the supposed identity of 'Guccifer,' or more broadly the question of who hacked the DNC.".

Within days, DARPA denied any involvement "In efforts to attribute the DNC hack." "Dr. Antonakakis worked on DARPA's Enhanced Attribution program, which did not involve analysis of the DNC hack," according to Jared Adams, DARPA's chief of communications.

Adams further told the Washington Examiner that "DARPA was not involved in efforts to attribute the Guccifer 2.0 persona, nor any involvement in efforts to attribute the origin of leaked emails provided to Wikileaks."

While acknowledging DARPA met with the special counsel's office, DARPA noted that "The meeting between DARPA and special counsel Durham was to provide a high-level overview of the Enhanced Attribution program," stressing that "During the course of that meeting, DARPA did not discuss matters related to the DNC hack, Guccifer 2.0, or leaked DNC emails provided to Wikileaks." The Washington Examiner's article added the DARPA spokesman's claim that, "To the best our knowledge, no DARPA-funded researchers investigated" the DNC hack or assisted the FBI's or Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of the hack.

In response to a request for clarification based on the Washington Examiner's reporting, Adams told The Federalist that, to DARPA's knowledge, no one affiliated with DARPA had asked Antonakakis "To research, in any way, at any time, either the DNC hack or the hacker." An attorney for Antonakakis did not respond to requests for comment.

While DARPA's September 25, 2018 email to Antonakakis about his "Great work" regarding the "Mueller case" does not mention the DNC hack, a "Chat log" for the DARPA Rhamnousia project shows the Georgia Tech researchers discussing both the DNC hack and GRU. One text reads: "For FBI to give a heads up to the DNC in fall 2015, this means that the attack was active for many months before." In another message, one of the researchers jokes that if GRU sends the Russian beauty Annet Mahendru after him, he's "Giving up" his colleagues.

https://thefederalist.com/2022/04/21/newly-obtained-emails-raise-questions-about-department-of-defense-involvement-in-spygate/