Cambridge Analytica scandal just got even uglier
Trump 2016 campaign cutout Cambridge Analytica has long stood accused of having stolen the Facebook user data of millions of Americans for illicit campaign advertising purposes, while also being tied to the Russians. Of course once Cambridge Analytica was exposed as a fraud, it promptly shut down, in an effort at covering its tracks.
But Washington DC Attorney General Karl Racine is still trying to get to the bottom of it all, with an ongoing civil investigation into Facebook’s culpability in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Today Racine announced that Mark Zuckerberg was “personally involved” in Facebook’s decision-making with regard to the scandal. Accordingly, Racine has added Zuckerberg as a defendant in his civil probe.
This is a big deal for a couple reasons. First, it gives the Washington DC AG a clear investigative target to pounce upon. Instead of having to solely target the defunct Cambridge Analytica, or target Facebook in general, he can focus in specifically on trying to bust Mark Zuckerberg in the name of getting to the truth.
Second, this move comes at a time when the House is in the process of having the Department of Justice bust Steve Bannon for criminal contempt. Bannon was deeply involved with Cambridge Analytica, even before the firm got into bed with Trump. Bannon is also under criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney. This all means that if Bannon decides to flip in order to save himself from his worsening legal troubles, he could end up being the inside witness that the Washington DC Attorney General is looking for against Cambridge Analytica and Facebook.
