Obama Admin Announces Russia’s “Punishment” for Alleged Hacking, with More to Come

The Associated Press has released a one sentence “article” on the “punishment” that the US will dole out to Russia for alleged hacking:

US to kick out 35 Russian intelligence operatives, shutter 2 Russian compounds in US in hacking response.

And that’s it.

No further information given. How strange is that?

NBC News had further details:

The sweeping actions outlined by the White House include:

Shutting down two compounds, one in in Maryland and one in New York, “used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes.”

Sanctions against the Russian intelligence services GRU and FSB, four high-ranking officers of the GRU, and three companies that allegedly provided support to the GRU’s cyber operations.

Releasing technical information about Russian cyber activity, “to help network defenders in the United States and abroad identify, detect, and disrupt Russia’s global campaign of malicious cyber activities.”

…In his statement, Obama said the U.S. had declared 35 Russian “intelligence operatives” persona non grata. The State Department said the 35 are diplomats “who were acting in a manner inconsistent with their diplomatic or consular status” and accused Russia of harassing U.S. diplomats overseas.

As of noon on Friday, the U.S. also will bar Russian access to two Moscow-owned “recreational compounds,” the White House said. No further detail was provided, but since 1972, the Russians have owned a historic estate overlooking the Chester River in eastern Maryland. They also own a recreation facility in Glen Cove, Long Island.

Moscow shot back, claiming once again for probably the 50th time already that the allegations of election hacking were lies and a provocation.

“To be honest, we are tired of [the] lie about the ‘Russian hackers,’ which is being poured down in the United States from the very top,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Wednesday.

Speaking of that, Obama also warned this is not all and more “punishment” could be forthcoming.

“We will continue to take a variety of actions at a time and place of our choosing, some of which will not be publicized,” Obama promised.

Take a few wild guesses what that could mean. He does still have a few weeks left to wreak more havoc…