While Trump refuses to admit that the Russians hacked our election, I lived it. I saw how it impacted the lives of everyone around me. The Russians may have not changed the totals in the voting machines, but they confused us, inflamed our doubts and our worst impulses, and destabilized the Democratic Party, making it an unfair fight. They paralyzed a significant portion of the electorate with all these disruptions. We’re a country of more than 320 million people. In 2016, 69 million voted for Hillary, 66 million voted for Donald Trump, and 90 million eligible citizens did not vote.
To this day it is astonishing to me that we do not treat this as a national emergency. Fair elections are the foundation of our collaboration, our unity, and this is something we all agree on. The heads of the intelligence agencies and members of Congress predict our 2018 election hack is coming, but there have been no moves to block this next assault on our democracy. Both parties should come together to take the necessary steps to protect the ballot box in 2018 and beyond, but the chaos sown by the hacking still reverberates in our politics and in our media, preventing us from feeling hope and taking action.
As I sat in my rocking chair on the porch in the last few months trying to come to terms with what happened in the wretched election of 2016, I found hope by remembering Hacker House. Those engineers represented the best of America. To them it was not important who won. All they cared about was having a fair fight. They gave up their comfortable lives, their friends and families, to live in a run-down row house to put their values into action. They could have stayed home, but they chose to act. That simple patriotism and love of the truth and fairness got lost in the turmoil and abuse of 2016, but I know it is within us, and I want to focus my future on bringing that spirit back.
When you’ve gone through such a soul shaking, the way out of despair is faith. Despite the deflection, dishonesty, and distraction we all lived through in 2016, I still have faith in the American people. I believe that, like the team from Hacker House, we all want a fair fight. The only way we can restore vigor to this process is to widen the franchise, get more people involved, and make them feel the power of participation. For this I thank Donald Trump once again, as opposition to him and his policies has increased citizen participation to levels I have not seen in decades. More people are insisting that their voices be heard, and it is our patriotic duty to hear each other out.
It was late in April, just before college graduation season, when I realized that 2017 would be the first time in more than a decade that no institution had asked me to give a commencement address. At the end of April I got a call from Miles College, a historically black college in Alabama. I was excited to say yes, because I knew that so much had happened in the last year that this speech would not be like any of the other fifteen I’d given.
I tried to put some thoughts on paper, but they just would not come to me. I wanted to give the students hope, even if I was having a hard time feeling it myself. Who wants to be the person with a pessimistic message on one of the happiest days of these people’s lives? When you have nothing, you go to prayer. I was praying on it, praying on it all the way to the airport. Then the flight was delayed. Another huge storm.
I was in the airport asking, “Oh Lord, let this be the last storm.” Within an hour and a half, the storm had pulled out farther into the Atlantic, and we were on the last flight to Birmingham.
On the flight there, I did not write. I was frightened by the storm that was not too far to the east. The clouds were roiling, black as night, and the lightning was amazing, but we had the smoothest flight I’d ever had through a storm. I started to write about the storms that had followed me all through the election, and how I took them as signs at each stage about the darkness that enveloped our country for those months. All the while I was writing I was envisioning Chip on my lap looking out the window helping me stare down the storm. As we circled to land, I jotted down on my notepad: “Choose Hope, Choose Action.”
I got to the hotel close to 11 p.m., and the words started coming. I described how in the last two months I had taken an inventory of my life. This was not as easy as figuring out what’s in your pantry or how many shoes you have. This was not about material things, but about the qualities in me that I knew I could always depend on. I told the graduates not to be complacent or discouraged when the storm clouds came their way: Choose Hope. Choose Action. And I ended on this quote, “You’ll be surprised to know how far you can go from the point where you thought it was the end.”
In 2005 I thought Hurricane Katrina was the end of my hometown, New Orleans. Nearly 1,800 people died in that storm, and thousands more lost their homes after twenty feet of water poured over the levees and into the streets. The country watched those people at the convention center, who had lost everything, standing there begging for someone to come to their rescue. My huge, extended family was scattered across the country. I thought we’d never be together as a family again, because we saw from Katrina that no one cared what happened to the people of New Orleans.
Then the American people saw the ravages of neglect on the faces of those people. They did not turn against us. They didn’t stick their noses up and say, Well, you’re on your own. They welcomed us. They brought us in and they fed us. They put money in our pockets. Thousands of volunteers donned Hazmat suits in ninety-degree heat and worked stripping mold from the houses that remained after the waters receded. And although George W. Bush took a lot of heat for how the government responded, he recognized his mistake and worked to correct it. As a board member of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, I was part of one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in our country’s history. I was in and out of the Bush White House as much as I was when Obama lived there, as we worked to repair homes, rebuild the levees, and bring people back to the Gulf Coast. As a country we chose hope for the Gulf region, and we put those values into action.
I choose to hope that we are learning the lessons of this election and that they will bring us together as a country. I also recognize it’s hard to know what to do next. My faith has always been my strongest attribute. My grandma Frances taught me early on to rely on the power of prayer to gain strength. But, it was my dad, Lionel, who taught me to never surrender and to fight for my country—no matter what.
Katrina tested my family’s values, our connection to each other, and our capacity to trust each other when the time was bleak and scary. When we came through, it strengthened those values by putting them into action. We chose hope, and I believe this is what our country will choose, too.
The outcome of the election was such a gut punch. People have rightly taken to the streets and social media to protest outrageous actions by the new administration. I worry, however, that our daily dose of outrage from the Tweeter in Chief tends to obscure larger lessons for our democracy.
I’ve worked for four decades in the trenches for the Democratic Party and its candidates. This election reminded me, however, that as much as I love my party, I love my country more. Free and fair elections are the bedrock of our democracy. The Russian hacking of 2016 showed us that—without intense vigilance—our electoral process is deeply vulnerable to tampering. That should terrify every American. Let’s take the terror and turn it into action. We must ensure our democratic institutions are strong enough to withstand the cyberattacks of the future.
In the summer of 2017, I was named a visiting fellow at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. I pledged to use my time there to explore what can be done to shore up our defenses against a hostile foreign power trying to influence our election. My hope is that, after reading my story of the hacking of our elections, you will want to do your part, too, in reclaiming and safeguarding our democracy.
Choose hope.
Donna and Chip, 2015
Timeline of the Hacking
April 29, 2016: DNC discovers their systems had been breached and immediately contact the FBI and CrowdStrike.
May 16: DNC officials
meet with senior FBI officials to discuss the hacking.
June 10–11: DNC kicks the hackers out of their systems. New hacking attempts continue on a regular basis.
June 14: Washington Post publishes an article publicly revealing that the DNC had been hacked by Russian intelligence.
June 15: Guccifer 2.0 starts posting documents online claiming to have hacked the DNC, Hillary Clinton, and other Democrats. The documents include a “Donald Trump Report” dated December 2015, fund-raising documents, and national security memos.
June 18: Guccifer 2.0 posts additional documents, alleging that they are financial and personal data from the DNC and its donors.
June 20–21: Guccifer 2.0 releases a document called “Dossier on Hillary Clinton from DNC.”
June 28: Another site, DCLeaks, releases emails allegedly from the account of Sarah Hamilton, a Hillary for America advance staffer.
June 30: Guccifer 2.0 posts an “FAQ” that includes attacks on Hillary Clinton and praise for Donald Trump, calling his political “position straight and clear.”
July 6: Guccifer 2.0 releases documents purported to be the DNC’s “action plan” for the Republican National Convention and a draft release on Democratic National Convention platform committee members, among others.
July 14: Guccifer 2.0 releases additional documents alleged to be hacked from Democrats.
July 19: Donald Trump officially becomes the Republican Party’s nominee for president.
July 22: WikiLeaks releases first batch of emails they claim were authored by staff at the DNC.
July 24: Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigns; Donna Brazile appointed interim chair.
July 25: DNC releases statement apologizing to Bernie Sanders, his supporters, and the Democratic Party for the “inexcusable remarks” contained in the leaked emails.
July 25–28: Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, PA.
July 27: Trump, in a news conference, says, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the thirty thousand emails that are missing.”
Late July/Early August: Trump campaign surrogates, RT, WikiLeaks, Roger Stone, Julian Assange, and others push the conspiracy that Seth Rich’s murder was connected to the DNC hack.
August 2: DNC bolsters general election staff.
August 4: The Department of Homeland Security contacts the DNC regarding the hacks. The DNC provides information to DHS soon after.
August 8: Roger Stone claims he is in contact with Julian Assange and suggests more WikiLeaks releases are coming.
August 11: DNC memo announces a cybersecurity task force.
August 12: Guccifer 2.0 releases documents they claim to have hacked from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). WordPress subsequently removed documents due to a “valid complaint regarding the publication of private information.”
August 15: Guccifer 2.0 releases documents alleged to be from the DCCC related to Florida primaries.
August 18: DNC breach notification sent to democratic donors, stakeholders, and others.
August 21: Guccifer 2.0 releases documents alleged to be from the DCCC related to Pennsylvania primaries.
August 31: Guccifer 2.0 releases documents alleged to be from the DCCC related to Nancy Pelosi.
September 13: Brazile statement on release of additional documents.
September 15: Guccifer 2.0 releases documents alleged to be from the DCCC related to New Hampshire, Ohio, Illinois, and North Carolina.
September 21: DCLeaks releases emails alleged to be from Ian Mellul, HFA advance volunteer.
September 23: Guccifer 2.0 releases documents alleged to be from the DCCC called “Dossier on Ben Ray Lujan.”
September 26: First presidential debate.
September 30: DCLeaks releases emails allegedly from the account of Beanca Nicholson, HFA volunteer.
October 4: Guccifer 2.0 releases documents alleged to be from the DCCC and falsely advertises them as Clinton Foundation documents.
October 4: Vice presidential debate.
October 5: Hacker House team arrives at the DNC.
October 6: DCLeaks releases emails alleged to be from Capricia Marshall.
October 7: Access Hollywood Trump tape story breaks.
October 7: A joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence names Russia as source of DNC hack.
October 7: WikiLeaks releases first batch of Podesta emails.
October 9: Second presidential debate.
October 10: At his campaign rallies Trump promotes WikiLeaks, saying things like, “WikiLeaks, I love WikiLeaks!” and encouraging Americans to read the Podesta emails saying, “WikiLeaks has some new stuff. Some brutal stuff… Just trust me, it’s real bad stuff.”
October 14: Yahoo investigative reporter Michael Isikoff publishes a story on the fake email from John Podesta to Donna Brazile contained in the WikiLeaks dump.
October 17: DNC meets with DHS officials.
October 18: DNC Chair Brazile sends letter to RNC Chair Priebus requesting that the two major parties work together to fight the cyber warfare.
October 18: Guccifer 2.0 suggests release of additional DNC documents about Donald Trump and promises there is more to come.
October 19: Final presidential debate.
November 1: DCLeaks releases emails alleged to be from the account of Zachary Leighton, HFA advance staffer.
November 4: Guccifer 2.0 falsely claims to have registered with the FEC to be an election observer, warning Democrats may rig the election. (In fact, people cannot register with the FEC to be an election observer, and the claim looks like an attempt to depress voter turnout.)
November 6: WikiLeaks releases second batch of emails alleged to be from the DNC.
November 8: Election Day
November 9: WikiLeaks releases final batch of Podesta emails to date.
December 9: Based on a secret assessment by the agency, the CIA informs U.S. lawmakers of its conclusion that Russia conducted operations to assist Donald Trump in winning the White House.
December 29: The Obama administration announces sanctions against Russia for its interference in the U.S. election.
January 5: Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee. During the hearing, Clapper says the intelligence community has grown more “resolute” in its assessment that Russian intelligence was involved in the hacks aimed at the DNC and Podesta and that Russia poses “an existential threat” to the United States.
January 6: The Office of the Director of National Intelligence releases its report on Russian activities in the U.S. election.
Acknowledgments
Gratitude. I am truly grateful for all of the support that I have received in writing this book.
To Robin Sproul, a well-known, respected journalist and former Washington, DC, bureau chief and vice president of ABC News, for encouraging me to write my story and for introducing me to her son-in-law, Matt Latimer, and his partner, Keith Urbahn, at Javelin. Javelin has become one of the fastest-known and fastest-growing literary agencies in Washington, DC.
Matt and Keith inspired me to take stock of everything I experienced and write it down. They took my notes and turned it into a strong proposal. Matt and Keith became my advocates who encouraged me to not give up when I was simply too exhausted to relive the 2016 campaign.
To Robert Barnett, my longtime agent and friend. Thank you for believing in me for so many long years. Onward!
To a brilliant, first-rate, and inquisitive editor, Paul Whit-latch, along with publisher Mauro DiPreta, associate publisher Michelle Aielli, publicity director Joanna Pinsker, marketing director Michael Barrs, assistant editor Lauren Hummel, and the entire team at Hachette Books for your constant support, encouragement, edits, and team spirit. Paul even came down to Washington, DC, to keep us moving. Thank you for doing your job so we
ll.
To Danelle Morton, my hero—or, in the words of America’s poet, Maya Angelou, “a phenomenal woman”—who helped me write this book. Danelle brought her A game to the table and the typewriter. For two solid months, she pulled out her tape recorder, listened to my story, took copious notes, and interviewed dozens of my former colleagues. She did a remarkable job of fact checking, research, editing, and writing. She captured the party’s inner turmoil, the hacking, the remediation process, and the day-to-day struggles of the closing weeks of the campaign. With a great sense of humor and an ability to understand the monumental threats we faced, Danelle encouraged me to tell this story and stood by me as I completely broke down and started my healing process. Without Danelle’s great reporting skills, this project would have been languishing on my desk for years. She’s now part of my Who Dat family.
To my former colleagues at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), who contributed to my recollection of events and the actions we undertook during the worst cyber nightmare in U.S. history. Let’s start with former ASDC chair and NH party chairman Ray Buckley and DNC finance chair Henry Muñoz, who went with me to FBI headquarters for a very thorough briefing on the DNC’s hacking and the Russian attempts to destabilize our democracy. Thank you, Ray and Henry. The nightmare isn’t over, so let’s remain vigilant.
To the other officers—R. T. Ryback, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Andy Tobias, Grace Meng, and Maria Elana Durazo—for supporting me in every way through the fall campaign and beyond. You’re my heroes. You’re in my thoughts and prayers for life.
To the DNC’s council chairs, caucus chairs, standing committees, and state party leadership, and all of our volunteers, donors, and stakeholders, bless you. Bless you. Bless you. I am proud of my twenty years of service. We opened doors, expanded participation, fought to include those formerly excluded from political leadership. Yes, we nominated the first black man to win the presidency. We did make history together. It’s now up to you to help get a woman into the White House. Yes we can!
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