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Russia directed cyberattacks against U.S. political institutions in 2015 and 2016, but there is “no evidence of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians,” the House intelligence committee has concluded.

For the past 14 months, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has probed allegations that the government of Russia President Vladimir Putin meddled in the 2016 elections.

The House committee explored possible links between the Russians and the campaigns of the two major presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Congressional investigators also examined how the U.S. government responded to Russian actions and probed potential leaks of classified information.

The probes by the House panel and its Senate counterpart have been overshadowed by special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation of Russian interference in the election, and alleged “collusion” between Moscow and the Trump campaign.

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., committee chairman, released a statement Monday expressing gratitude for House colleagues who led the investigation.

The draft report, exceeding 500 pages and including over 600 citations, was delivered Tuesday to committee Democrats for review and comment.

Once adopted, the report will be the subject of a declassification review before it is made public.

The report discusses Russian cyberattacks on American political institutions and …read more

Government workers who don’t want to join unions should be able to “opt in” rather than “opt out” of union fees that finance political activism, some California teachers argue.

“Unions don’t want people to know how to opt out; they harass you and bully you once you do try,” @4kidsandcountry says.

Unless the nation’s highest court prohibits public employee unions from deducting dues and other fees from paychecks without consent, those workers will be forced to help pay for causes they don’t support, according to the teachers, who have filed a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles.

Two teachers who are plaintiffs in Yohn v. California Teachers Association described to The Daily Signal how union “opt-out schemes” may be used to dilute any new ruling from the Supreme Court in favor of state government workers who have challenged mandatory union fees under the First Amendment.

The teachers argue for the “opt in” approach both in their own case and in a friend-of-the-court brief filed on behalf of Illinois state workers in Janus v. AFSCME, a case now before the Supreme Court.

“The Janus case is making the same free speech argument that my case is,” Ryan Yohn, the lead plaintiff in the …read more

Government workers who don’t want to join unions should be able to “opt in” rather than “opt out” of union fees that finance political activism, some California teachers argue.

“Unions don’t want people to know how to opt out; they harass you and bully you once you do try,” @4kidsandcountry says.

Unless the nation’s highest court prohibits public employee unions from deducting dues and other fees from paychecks without consent, those workers will be forced to help pay for causes they don’t support, according to the teachers, who have filed a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles.

Two teachers who are plaintiffs in Yohn v. California Teachers Association described to The Daily Signal how union “opt-out schemes” may be used to dilute any new ruling from the Supreme Court in favor of state government workers who have challenged mandatory union fees under the First Amendment.

The teachers argue for the “opt in” approach both in their own case and in a friend-of-the-court brief filed on behalf of Illinois state workers in Janus v. AFSCME, a case now before the Supreme Court.

“The Janus case is making the same free speech argument that my case is,” Ryan Yohn, the lead plaintiff in the …read more

Russian agents working to undermine America’s fossil fuel industry use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media tools to spread propaganda and try to turn U.S. public opinion against domestic energy production, according to a new congressional report.

The report found that between 2015 and 2017, “an estimated 9,097 Russian posts or tweets regarding U.S. energy policy or a current energy event,” such as approval of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, appeared on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

In addition, 4,334 social media accounts connected to a Russian agency that manipulates media platforms spread across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, the report from the committee’s majority staff says.

After reviewing documents sought last fall from the American social media companies, investigators with the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology found that Russian agents made a concerted effort to exploit social media platforms with messaging aimed at disrupting U.S. energy markets, the report released Thursday says.

“This report reveals that Russian agents created and spread propaganda on U.S. social media platforms in an obvious attempt to influence the U.S. energy market,” committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said in a written statement on Russia President Vladimir Putin’s motives.

‘Exploiting’ Social Media

In September, Smith sent letters requesting …read more

Russian agents working to undermine America’s fossil fuel industry use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media tools to spread propaganda and try to turn U.S. public opinion against domestic energy production, according to a new congressional report.

The report found that between 2015 and 2017, “an estimated 9,097 Russian posts or tweets regarding U.S. energy policy or a current energy event,” such as approval of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, appeared on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

In addition, 4,334 social media accounts connected to a Russian agency that manipulates media platforms spread across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, the report says.

After reviewing documents sought last fall from the American social media companies, investigators with the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology found that Russian agents made a concerted effort to exploit social media platforms with messaging aimed at disrupting U.S. energy markets, the report released Thursday says.

“This report reveals that Russian agents created and spread propaganda on U.S. social media platforms in an obvious attempt to influence the U.S. energy market,” committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said in a written statement on Russia President Vladimir Putin’s motives.

‘Exploiting’ Social Media

In September, Smith sent letters requesting information from Facebook and Twitter. …read more

Government employees who don’t support the political activism of union leaders should not be forced to fund that activism, said demonstrators who turned out Monday at the Supreme Court building to support a free speech challenge of government-imposed union mandates.

As the Supreme Court held oral arguments inside, The Daily Signal spoke with supporters and opponents of right-to-work laws that prohibit employers and unions from entering into agreements that require workers to join unions and pay union dues.

Each side took to the microphones to make their case outside the court.

“Workers who don’t join the union are still entitled to the benefits unions win for them,” David Barrows, a former union member who lives in Washington, D.C., told The Daily Signal.

But Rebecca Friedrichs, a California elementary school teacher who was the lead plaintiff in a related Supreme Court case in 2016, sees it differently.

“Public sector unions collect billions of dollars from middle-class workers who are forced to fund a political agenda that is very much against their values,” Friedrichs told The Daily Signal. “Average Americans should know that this agenda directly affects their lives.”