Russian hackers broke into the Democratic National Committee’s computer networks and made off with opposition research about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
Now, as day follows night, a nearly 200 page document has turned up on Gawker that appears to be from that trove of stolen material. It’s too soon to attest to its authenticity, but it certainly looks real, and it’s the sort of thing that would be hard to create on short notice.
The document, assuming it’s real, sets out a seven point strategy for Democrats to challenge Trump. Crafted by paid research and strategy consultants, such documents serve as attack plans for campaigns — in this case that of presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton—to go after their opponents.
The seven points, which are each followed by several paragraphs of Trump-bashing material, are in a section called “Top Narratives.” Here they are, plus a short description:
“Trump has No Core”
What it says: Trump is in it for himself and will lie or say and anything to get what he wants. This section also includes a “Trump’s a liar” part that sets out some of the businessman’s worst whoppers (ie thousands of U.S. Muslims celebrating on 9/11 or President Obama being born outside of the U.S.)
“Divisive and Offensive Campaign”
Trump is campaigning on fear and racism, and fueling dangerous rhetoric about Muslims and immigrants. This part also cites Trump’s touting of a border wall and his antagonism to reporters.
“Bad Businessman”
Trump has a record of “irresponsible and reckless borrowing to build his empires.” The section also calls attention to his multiple bankruptcies and his outsourcing of his clothing line to lower-wage companies like China and Mexico.
“Dangerous and Irresponsible Policies”
This basically argues the world will end if Trump is elected, due to his lack of foreign policy knowledge and bellicose rhetoric. It quotes his “Bomb the S*** Out of Them” plan that would also involve 10,000 ground troops to quell ISIS. There are also asides about Trump’s lack of health care policy and denial of climate change.
“Misogynist in Chief”
This quotes Trump’s on-record gems like “as long as you’ve got a nice and young piece of ass [it doesn’t matter what the media says]” and his penchant for calling women pigs, dogs and slobs.
Out of Touch
This one’s a little abstract. It sounds a lot like stock Democratic talking points about the 1% and why rich people like Trump will pursue self-serving tax policies.
Personal History
This focuses on a statement by Trump’s ex-wife, Ivana, that described a 1989 incident as “rape” and that she felt “violated” by the experience (she has since recanted it). It also quotes a lawyer for a Trump organization who allegedly responded by saying “you can’t rape your wife.”
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There is obviously much more to the document. But so far no one has turned up anything amounting to a bombshell.
Given Trump’s already well-publicized record of outlandish behavior, the biggest news that may come out of this hacking is why the Democrats presumably paid big money for this well-known material in the first place.
