In 2016, Russia ran an unprecedented cyber operation in the United States, which impacted the 2016 presidential election. But it’s most devastating consequence is creating doubt in the objectivity of our elections. Through a variety of tactics like social engineering, fake news, and targeted advertising, the Russians sought to undermine the US’s democracy, and even they have to be surprised how well it worked. In addition to the social media and state based propaganda, the hackers broke into the election systems of at least two states: conservative Arizona and liberal Illinois. As of this writing, part of the nation that includes our President refuse to acknowledge the attack or work to prevent a similar one. In Kompromat Jeff Pegues pieces together many arguments that Russia by direction of Putin influenced the US election. In the current political reality, the people who need to see this information will dismiss it as fake news despite this thoroughly researched work that contains quite a few interviews with policy, election, intelligence, and cyber experts.
TL;DR
Kompromat by Jeff Pegues is an interesting mix of memoir, well-researched argument, and interviews that detail just what happened and whether it could happen again. The writing style will not be for everyone, and with many of the interviews, I feel like we’re missing part of the whole story. Recommended with the caution to read a couple of the short chapters first or check out of your library.
From the Publisher
A CBS correspondent presents an in-depth examination of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and measures to protect US voting systems against future cyber attacks.
In this compelling account of how the Russians hacked the 2016 election, CBS News Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent Jeff Pegues reveals how far the Kremlin poked into voter databases and why it happened. He also investigates the steps taken to shore up election systems in states across the country ahead of the 2018 midterm and indeed the 2020 Presidential election.
Based on exclusive interviews with officials from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and cybersecurity experts, Pegues takes readers behind the scenes and into the minds of investigators following the case. He delves into the shadowy world of Russian spies, unraveling the complicated web of contacts between Russian operatives and Trump representatives during the campaign. In one chapter, he focuses on Valeri Gerasimov, widely believed to be the mastermind behind a Russian cyber strategy designed to influence and disrupt democracies. Evidence is presented showing that the Russians infiltrated not only Democratic Party computer networks in the US, but networks in the Ukraine and Europe as well.
Consulting with representatives of top cyber security firms, the author discusses what states are doing to protect voting systems in the next midterm elections and beyond.
Fascinating and chilling at the same time, Kompromat opens a window into the murky world of espionage, digital warfare, and a newly aggressive Russia brazenly inserting itself into U.S. politics.
Kompromat's Argument
Jeff Pegues gathers together a lot of evidence about what happened in the contentious 2016 US presidential election. Despite the end of the Cold War and the best intentions of Obama’s Reset, Vladimir Putin still views America as an enemy, and through many sources and interviews, Jeff Pegues shows what Russia did. To be clear, it is circumstantial evidence. There is no smoking gun, at least, as of the writing of this review. However, the argument is well constructed. Mr. Pegues references a number of sources in addition to the various interviews that he conducted as part of his job at CBS. At the end of the book, many notes and references are available for skeptics to cross check, which skeptics should with a book like this. But I think Kompromat will withstand skeptical inquiry.
Before I give my reaction, I want to be upfront that even before reading this book, I thought Russia interfered in our election based on publicly available news stories at the time. So, this book didn’t have to work hard to convince me of its central argument. Even with my bias, I believe that Mr. Pegues has worked hard to be objective and present facts and suppositions based on facts. Despite Mr. Pegues’ evidence based argument, a large number of Americans will remain unconvinced that Russia interfered or that their actions had any effect on the outcome. In a political climate where people choose their facts, this type of investigation might be tilting at windmills.
Writing
It’s clear from the start that this book is written by a journalist. It’s economical to a fault. Chapters are very short and move at a breakneck pace. Overall, the book felt rushed. If you know nothing of the allegations, then this book will require a lot of reading outside its pages. But if you are up to date on the allegations, this book fills in many details while providing excellent sources to back up your own arguments.
This isn’t solely an investigative book; it is also part memoir of Mr. Pegues last few years. We see his reaction on the day after the election, his meetings with sources, his travels and interviews with experts. It’s an interesting mix that doesn’t quite succeed at being either. I would like more of the memoir in each chapter.
There are a lot of good interviews in this book but not enough content from each interview. If you watched Mr. Pegues on CBS, you most likely saw those interviews and don’t need more information. However, I didn’t. I need more excerpts from each interview to flesh out those chapters. The interview chapters feel like companion pieces to the CBS news segments that Mr. Pegues worked on.
Where Does It Fit?
Many books are being written about Russia and the 2016 election. Until the special prosecutor finishes his job, we won’t know the full extent of their interference. But it seems likely that the country did meddle in our election. As it stands, Kompromat wouldn’t be a recommendation from me to begin researching the allegations against Russia. Mr. Pegues has written a book for people familiar with the election controversy but want more information, more words from the experts. Kompromat collects a lot of information in its pages.
Conclusion
In Kompromat, Jeff Pegues collects and builds on the argument that Russia meddled. As it is currently written, Kompromat feels rushed and erratic. But that doesn’t detract from the wealth of information inside. As a voter interested in the security of my nation’s election systems, this book delivered on its promises. It’s a good investigative book that voter age Americans should read.
Available July 10th, 2018 from Penguin publishing.