It is suspected that Yevgeniy Nikulin is the Russian hacker who hacked Anthony Weiner’s computer via Formspring. Mr. Weiner was under investigation for sexting texts to a minor when somehow, some of the emails of the democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton were inadvertently found on the same laptop that Anthony Weiner and his estranged spouse had utilized and which was confiscated by NY FBI agents. Because these newly discovered emails were related to Mrs. Clinton’s former position as US secretary of state, the FBI Director James Comey wrote his infamous “October surprise” letter to congress that these emails would have to be reviewed, and this was done within 10 days of election day.
Based on recent research, we know that the FBI was granted a FISA warrant on 10/15/16, to investigate the connection between the (Trump Tower private) server and two banks, SVB Bank and Alfa Bank.
As per the 11/7/16 Heatstreet report by Louise Mensch, “However, it is thought in the intelligence community that the warrant covers any ‘US person’ connected to this investigation, and thus covers at least three men who have either formed part of his campaign or acted as his media surrogates. The warrant was sought, they say, because actionable intelligence on the matter provided by friendly foreign agencies could not properly be examined without a warrant by US intelligence as it involves ‘US Persons’ who come under the remit of the FBI and not the CIA.”
Because the FISA warrant was issued almost a couple weeks before the FBI Director Comey made public the October surprise letter regarding Mrs. Clinton’s emails, he may have been in an ethical bind. It is one thing to talk about a closed criminal investigation but it is another more serious matter to give any indication that there is an ongoing inquiry that involves US national security interests.
The arrest papers to have the FBI extradite a Russian hacker while he was in Prague, Bucharest was based on a federal grand jury indictment. Here is the link: Yevgeniy Nikulin Indicted for Hacking LinkedIn, Dropbox and …https://www.justice.gov/…Oct 21, 2016 –
Here is the rest of this saga…
On 1/27/17 Robert Tait and Julian Borger of The Guardian penned the following saga, “Alleged hacker held in Prague at center of ‘intense’ US-Russia tug of war.” “An alleged computer hacker being held in the Czech Republic is at the center of an international legal tussle between the United States and Russia amid lingering disquiet over Moscow’salleged interference in the recent US presidential election.
Yevgeniy Nikulin, 29, faces extradition requests from both countries after being detained by Czech police on an Interpol arrest warrant issued by US authorities.
Nikulin, a Russian citizen, was arrested in a restaurant in Prague on October 5, 2016 shortly after arriving in the city during a holiday with his girlfriend.
“A federal court in Oakland, California, followed up with an indictment charging him with offences relating to the hacking of computer networks belonging to Linkedln, Dropbox and Formspring and formally requesting his extradition to the US.” “He faces a maximum 30 years in prison and up to $1m in fines if convicted on charges including computer intrusion, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy, damaging computers and trafficking in illegal access devices.”
“There is no acknowledged link between Nikulin’s alleged offences and the hacking of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, but his arrest came just three days before the Obama administration formally accused Russia of stealing emails from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and disclosing them through WikiLeaks.”
“Formspring, one of the sites he allegedly hacked, was the platform used for sexting by Anthony Weiner, the former New York mayoral candidate and husband of Huma Abedin, Clinton’s closest aide. The discovery of emails linked to Clinton on Weiner’s laptop damaged her campaign in its final two weeks after the FBI director, James Comey, revealed their existence.”
“Meanwhile, Russia has responded to the American extradition request against Nikulin by tabling one of its own, demanding that he be returned to face allegations dating back to 2009 that he hacked another person’s bank account and stole 111,000 roubles (£1,465).”
“He was never formally accused at that time. I think the reason is that he was recruited (by the Russian security services),” said Ondrej Kundra, political editor with the Czech weekly magazine Respekt, which has reported that the Russian services offer alleged offenders immunity from prosecution in exchange for collaboration.
“There’s intense lobbying in this case. People from the US and Russian side are talking to the Czech authorities because both really want Nikulin in their countries.”
“One theory is Nikulin – even if not personally involved in the election hacking – may know other hackers who were.”
“Fueling speculation is the existence of sealed US court documents, tabled six days after the original indictment against Nikulin on October 20, 2016 but whose contents have not been revealed.” “A number of documents were filed under seal, which means you cannot talk about them,” a US justice department spokesman told the Guardian.”
“Adam Kopecky, Nikulin’s Czech lawyer, said his client denied both the US and Russian charges and suggested he had become a political pawn. “My client and myself think it’s a political affair,” Kopecky said.”
“Given the international situation, when one superpower accuses a citizen of the other of hacking their computers and then the other superpower accuses the same citizen of another crime, it’s kind of strange.”
“Kopecky lodged an official complaint after prison authorities put his client under high-level supervision that included monitoring his communications with the lawyer.”
“He is unhappy about being detained for a long time in a foreign country and about the accusations against him. He wants to return to Russia – but as a free man,” Kopecky said.
Czech television has reported that FBI agents are to travel to Prague to question Nikulin in the presence of Czech authorities. An FBI spokesman refused to confirm that but said the bureau was “aware of the situation”.
“The case is currently in the hands of Prague’s chief prosecutor, who is expected to issue a decision on the twin extradition requests at the end of this month or early in February, a spokeswoman for the city’s municipal court said.”
“Russia’s embassy in Prague declined to comment but cited a previous foreign ministry statement in which a spokeswoman compared the affair to other incidents and called it “another proof that the US law enforcement agencies are hunting for Russian citizens across the world”.
----------------------------------------------------- FBI PROBE INTO CLINTON EMAILS PROMPTED OFFER OF CASH, CITIZENSHIP FOR CONFESSION, RUSSIAN HACKER CLAIMS
A Russian citizen accused of being a hacker by both Russia and the U.S. has claimed U.S. officials offered to cut him a deal if he admitted to interfering in the 2016 presidential election.
Yevgeniy Nikulin, 29, has found himself in the middle of an international dispute between Washington and Moscow, at the very center of which lies U.S. allegations that Russia sponsored a series of hacks targeting Democratic Party candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in favor of Republican candidate and current President Donald Trump. On October 5, 2016, days before U.S. intelligence publicly accused Russia of endorsing an infiltration of Democratic Party officials' emails, Nikulin was arrested in Prague at the request of the U.S. on separate hacking charges. Now, Nikulin claims U.S. authorities tried to pin the email scandal on him.
Nikulin was detained in the Czech Republic for allegedly hacking the servers of major sites LinkedIn, Dropbox and Formspring between 2012 and 2013. While awaiting trial, he claims in an undated letter reportedly given to U.S. Russian-language news site Nastoyashchoe Vremya by Nikulin's lawyer, Martin Sadilek, that the [color=red]FBI visited him at least a couple of times, offering to drop the charges and grant him U.S. citizenship as well as cash and an apartment in the U.S. if the Russian national confessed to participating in the 2016 hacks of Clinton campaign chief John Podesta's emails in July.
"[They told me:] you will have to confess to breaking into Clinton's inbox for [U.S. President Donald Trump] on behalf of [Russian President Vladimir Putin],” Nikulin wrote, according to The Moscow Times.
Nikulin said he refused the deal, but U.S. officials threatened to return. He claims the visits occurred in mid-November 2016 and on February 7 of this year. Czech television has reported at least one FBI visit earlier this year, according to The Guardian, which cited an FBI spokesperson as saying the agency was "aware of the situation," but declining further comment. The FBI is seeking to extradite Nikulin to face trial in the U.S., something he and his lawyers are trying to fight.[/color]
While the U.S. has not publicly acknowledged any connection between Nikulin and the Russian election hacking controversy, Nikulin's arrest did attract the attention of Moscow. Nikulin is accused by Russia of hacking into and stealing from online WebMoney accounts. The Moscow-based online money transfer system claims 31 million users around the world and Nikulin is charged with stealing $3,450 in 2009, according to the state-owned Tass Russian News Agency. Moscow has also filed an extradition request.
Nikulin, a self-described used car salesman who claims he does not work with computers, denies the charges raised against him by both the U.S. and Moscow. His Czech lawyer, Adam Kopecky, said in January he and Nikulin believed the Russian national was being used as a "political pawn" amid an international feud between Washington and Moscow, according to The Guardian.
Nikulin was due in court Thursday, but the proceedings were interrupted when his defense lawyers indicated that their client had not received the proper Russian-language documents prior to appearing in court, the Associated Press reported. In an unusual move, the hearing was scheduled to be held in the confines of Prague's Pankrac prison over heightened security concerns. Proceedings were postponed to May 30, where he was due to appear again before Judge Jaroslav Pytloun.
Extradition Hearing Expected Soon for Alleged LinkedIn, DropBox Hacker
Czech court to rule on extradition of alleged Russian hacker
Prosecutors in Prague on Wednesday cleared the way for a court hearing on whether a Russian accused of hacking LinkedIn Corp should be extradited.
Yevgeniy Nikulin was arrested last year and is sought by both the United States and Russia.
A spokeswoman for the Prague Municipal Court said the court would announce in coming days a hearing date to decide on U.S. and Russian extradition requests. Prague municipal prosecutors said both extradition demands had substance.
Nikulin has been indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury that said he had hacked into the U.S.-based social media companies LinkedIn Corp, Dropbox and Formspring.
Russia has also applied to have Nikulin extradited to Moscow in connection with a 2009 internet theft of $3,450.
If the court determines that both countries' requests are valid, the justice minister would make the final extradition decision.
Moscow criticized Nikulin's arrest last October, saying Washington was mounting a global manhunt against its citizens.
A U.S. federal grand jury in Oakland, California, indicted Nikulin on Oct. 21. His arrest in Prague that month was carried out in cooperation with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
LinkedIn Corp has said the arrest was related to a 2012 breach at the social networking company that might have compromised the credentials of 100 million users, prompting it to launch a massive password reset operation.
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