Lame Duck: The United States as we mentioned last night, deported 35 alleged Russian spies in response to her alleged interference Russias in last month's presidential election, further escalating tensions between the two countries.
The US State Department reported that 35 diplomatic intelligence officials from the Russian Embassy in Washington DC and the San Francisco consulate have been declared "persona non grata", and have been given 72 hours to leave the country with their families.
President Barack Obama also announced the closure of two Russian compounds, in New York and Maryland, which were used by Russian officials for collection information.
"I announced sanctions against nine entities and individuals: GRU and FSB, two Russian intelligence services, four individual GRU officers, and three Companies who provided material support to GRU cyber operations," President Barack Obama said in his announcement.
Obama accused Russia of "aggressive harassment," saying "all Americans should be alarmed by Russia's actions." He believes that hacking "could only be organized by the highest levels of the Russian government." Of course, as we mentioned yesterday, there is still no evidence or if there is, it has not been announced.
The move came as a retaliation for the hacking that took place during the election last month on the logistics of the Democratic Party and the Hillary Clinton campaign.
Of course, Russia denies any involvement and called the Obama administration's allegations "unfounded," saying it was unhappy with the last days of the Obama administration.
So immediately after Obama's announcements on Thursday, the Russian embassy in London, published a photo with a duckling that says the word "Lame."
President Obama expelled 35 🇷🇺 diplomats in Cold War already vu. As everybody, incl 🇺🇸 people, will be glad to see the last of this hapless Adm. pic.twitter.com/mleqA16H8D
- Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) December 29, 2016
The photo was published with an obvious reference to Obama, who is nearing the end of his term in the White House as a "lame duck" after almost eight years as President of the United States.
