We here on this side of the pond (USA) have had to deal with the GOP powerful like the republican President Donald Trump and his sycophants who would prefer to be in a state of denial as to the extent that Russia attacked the 2016 US elections infrastructure, but this desire has been circumvented by the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe being led by the Special Counsel Robert Mueller III.
But not for one second do I doubt, that if the US president and his republican cohorts had their way, this FBI investigation would be ended, immediately. In lieu of this option, they will be doing their best to insure that the FBI’s findings, never see the light of day.
It is now up to UK peoples to demand that an investigation be conducted. Since it appears, that the UK’s “Leave Eu” campaign was the laboratory trial for what Russia did in the USA in 2016, it at least deserves, serious consideration.
Here’s the rest of the story…
On August 27, 2018, Carole Cadwalladr of The Guardian penned the following report, “Tom Watson demands answers about alleged Russian Brexit plot.” (“Labour’s deputy leader asks if National Crime Agency is investigating whether referendum was ‘stolen’)
Excerpts:
“Tom Watson, the deputy leader of the Labour party, has called on the government to confirm if the National Crime Agency is looking into whether there was Russian interference in the EU referendum.”
“Watson suggested the vote may have been “stolen” and said that if the NCA was not investigating then a full public inquiry with powers similar to those of the US special counsel Robert Mueller must be held. Mueller is investigating Russian interference into the 2016 US presidential election.”
“It is the first time that a member of Labour’s frontbench has called into question the legality of the referendum and has been seen by backbench MPs as a significant intervention.”
“Ben Bradshaw, the Labour MP for Exeter who has been pressing for the past 18 months for the government to act on reports of Russian interference, said on Twitter that it was “great to have the Labour front bench weighing in”.
Ben Bradshaw
✔@BenPBradshaw
Well done @tom_watson – great to have the Labour front bench weighing in support of our campaign for the truth #BrexitShambles #PeoplesVote
Tom Watson
✔@tom_watson
Today I called on the government to confirm the National Crime Agency is investigating Russian links to http://Leave.EU. If not, we need a public inquiry. It is time the British people were told whether the EU referendum result was stolen by the Russian state. #BylineFest
“Banks said at the time: “As far as we are concerned, the committee has been creating fake news.”
“Watson said he had decided it would be cowardly of him not to respond to the questions being raised by journalists and said it was plainly “in the public interest” for the government to confirm or deny that the NCA was investigating. “And if they’re not, I think there does need to be an adequately resourced public inquiry so that people know the facts of the referendum,” he said. “They need to know whether that referendum was stolen or not.”
“He said the Electoral Commission was clearly not the right the body to be tasked with investigating state interference and later said that it was part of the same problem that Jeremy Corbyn had identified in his speech on media reform last week.”
“Jeremy has highlighted the problem of there being too many statutory bodies and this is what we’ve seen in the referendum. We know there were breaches of data laws and election laws and even possible state interference,” he said.”
“There’s half a dozen different bodies looking at different aspects of this and I just don’t think this is the way for the British people will get the truth of what happened. I really do think we need a Mueller-style inquiry to establish the facts and there’s obviously an urgency to this.”
“There is now growing cross-party disquiet with questions of illegal overspending and interference in the referendum campaign.”
“Collins, who made a similar call to Watson’s when he published the DCMS’s committee interim report on fake news a month ago, stated the case even more strongly this weekend saying that a Mueller-style investigation was now the only way to uncover the truth.”
“There are places where the committee could not go because we did not have the powers, with the consequence that there are lots of grey areas,” he said. “A special investigator would have the power to compel evidence and witnesses in a way that we were not able to.”
“There’s no legal mechanism to do this to challenge the result of the referendum. The Electoral Commission and police can only take action against individuals. A fuller investigation can only be actioned by parliament or more likely the government.”
“We need investigators to go into Facebook and take a full and detailed look at what happened on social media and in terms of individuals like Arron Banks.”
Other Guardian related articles:
See: Revealed: Leave.EU campaign met Russian officials as many as 11 times
See: Arron Banks, Brexit and the Russia connection
See: Arron Banks: self-styled bad boy and bankroller of Brexit
Gronda Morin 
I would agree that a special Mueller type investigation is needed if there are some firm indications that the voting was hijacked.But, since there is always a paper trail in our elections maybe a recount of the votes would be a good start. The problem for many Brexiteers is that the Bremainers just won’t accept the decision made by a majority on voting day and are seeking any excuse to get it overturned.. An investigation might settle this once and for all. Had the vote gone the other way I would have been prepared to accept it and I’m afraid we’re so close to coming out now and suffering the huge charges by the ruling bodies of the EU that this must be dealt with smartly.
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Dear David Prosser,
You wouldn’t know it by reading all the hype but the FBI’s Mueller probe was the perfect solution for the USA. He is legitimately a competent, decent man of integrity, a searcher of truth. He was the FBI Director for 12 years, appointed by President George W. Bush, a former decorated marine.
If President Trump were innocent, he would be thrilled that Mr. Mueller was running the show.
I prefer knowing exactly what happened. I would think that UK citizens would want to know exactly what was Russia’s role in the “Leave EU” campaign.
If the republicans had their way, the Mueller report would not see the light of day.
Hugs, Gronda
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Hi Gronda, I want to know!
And as a remainer (not a remoaner) I was gutted, but knew I had no choice but to accept the decision. Our leaders had foolishly not only set us on this path believing it would not happen but had not set a decent margin of majority – so by a small majority we were leaving the EU. If (and I don;t doubt it) there was dirty work at the crossroads, then it should be revealed and we should be given a chance to make clear how we feel now, with more evidence of how catastrophic it is already proving for us. Some may say that is just short term but I think they are wrong…
What David neglects to mention (and may not know) is that recent data shows that over 100 parliamentary constituencies that voted in the majority to leave have now changed to being a majority for remain.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/11/more-than-100-pro-leave-constituencies-switch-to-remain
Keep up the good work Gronda, I may not comment often any more on you and Jill, but I read!
Mary
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Dear Mary,
Thank you for the reference. The study results proving that constituents would now choose to remain in the EU if given the chance, is all the more reason for the UK to somehow have the Russian interference in the “Leave EU” movement fully investigated, but where the UK citizens could rely and have confidence in the findings.
We here is the USA are dealing with this reality but there are those who would like to bury this truth, that Russia did effect the 2016 US elections’ outcome.
Hugs, Gronda
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It is obvious to anyone with a brain that trump has much to hide.
Those who support him at this point in time are either totally complicit like most of the republicans, the wealthy money makers and organized crime or totally ignorant, uneducated, racist, fanatically religious and anti science etc.
Two distinct types of supporters…one smart, conniving and ruthless and the other mindless and easily swayed. And unfortunately the second type has fairly large numbers here in the US.
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Dear Mary Plumbago,
It is hard for me to understand how there are those who still continue to be avid supporters of President Trump while claiming not to be racist, a xenophobe, a misogynist and worse.
Hugs, Gronda
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Amongst all the chaos which is Brexit the notion that Russia might have been involved in the process has been overlooked.
There is a certain amount of irony within this which suggests such an investigation might not have much traction. This being that:
A) Corbyn himself is very luke-warm about the EU and amongst other issues has to deal with a group of Labour Supporters who are demanding a more positive pro-EU process.
B) Within Labour there is substantial minority who automatically refuse to believe Russia could possibly do anything like that! (Suggest it was the CIA and you’d never hear the end of it)
So suddenly finding this coming from within senior Labour is a bit of surprise and sounds a bit opportunistic. When you add this to a govt which has invested so much ill-used time in Brexiting and a strident Brexit group who would go into hysterical over-drive and a serious process…..
Sadly it is something which may start, and may create some sound and fury, but with an unholy coalition of right-wing Brexit and Left wing Russian-apologists will eventually be shuffled off somewhere.
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Dear Roger,
As always, your analysis makes perfect sense. I see this idea of a genuine investigation into Russia’s involvement in the UK’s “Leave EU movement” unlikely, but something, I wish would happen.
Maybe as the brexit negotiations become more cumbersome, the motivations of the different political players may change.
Hugs, Gronda
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Brexit could be handled in a more incompetent manner but it would take monumental egotists and self-serving fools of Farage and Johnson B’s stripe.
We are shuffling into one of our periodic disasters in our usual muddled way. It is unlikely even a substantial minority would make an issue of Russian interference, there are so many other facets of the whole mess to argue over.
Lucky old Putin!
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Gronda, I matters not to me who says what on this, the key is did they or didn’t they? That is the point lost on so many Americans. If they helped our tribe win, then it is OK. I am firmly convinced Putin had his machine influencing every election tilted toward the outcome that benefits Russia. Social media is the weapon of his dreams.
So, did the Russians influence the Brexit vote. Of course, they did. Why? Putin. Keith
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Dear Keith,
Like you, I’m certain that Russia was mired deep into the mud making of the UK’s “Leave EU movement.” It surprises me that there are peoples who don’t want to face this reality. But then we here, on this side of the pond, are burdened with some who would prefer to play the denial game, as well.
Hugs, Gronda
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Dear Mary Plumbago,
It is hard for me to understand how there are those who still continue to be avid supporters of President Trump while claiming not to be racist, a xenophobe, a misogynist and worse.
Hugs, Gronda
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