Cambridge Analytica: SCL, The Heart of the British Establishment: Christopher Steele’s Inside Accomplices?

A bombshell piece published March 20th by investigative journalist Liam O’Hare, entitled “SCL, a Very British Coup” in Bella Caledonia raises profound new issues regarding British meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections. Those following the news may be aware of stories over the past 48 hours claiming that Cambridge Analytica, a data mining firm employed by the Trump campaign, stole data from Facebook compromising the privacy of many Americans.  Across the pond, Britain’s news Channel 4 caught Cambridge executive Andrew Nix bragging about using dirty tricks, including bribery and sex honey pots, to entrap politicians and subvert elections.  Nix was suspended as a result of the Channel 4 sting videos by the company.

Who is supposed to be at fault here?  Donald Trump for hiring this gang of miscreants after Steve Bannon, the Mercers, and others dragged Cambridge Analytica into Trump’s campaign from Ted Cruz’s campaign, where Bannon, the Mercers, and Cambridge previously operated? Or Facebook, already correctly called a primary intelligence and personality profiling mechanism, by Edward Snowden?

O’Hare’s piece indicates that pointing the finger at Trump or at Facebook are very, very serious diversions here.  He profiles the investors, Board, and activities of the parent company, SCL (Strategic Communications Laboratories).  O’Hare says the Board is “an array of Lords, Tory donors, ex-British army officers and defense contractors,” offering military grade psy ops as a private company. This is a scandal that cuts to the heart of the British establishment.  According to The Observer, Cambridge Analytica and SCL are not separate entities.  For all practical purposes they are one and the same.

The organization boasts that it has conducted behavioral change programs in over 60 countries with clients including the British Ministry of Defense, the U.S. State Department, and NATO. SCL has a contract with the U.S. State Department to counter terrorist propaganda and disinformation.  The company participated in “countering Russia propaganda operations” in support of Ukraine for NATO.  This puts them right in the center of the Christopher Steele, Victoria Nuland, Project Democracy anti-Russia, pro-Kiev operations in the State Department.

Mark Turnball, who heads up SCL elections, spent 18 years at the disgraced British intelligence-connected public relations firm Bell Pottinger.  He headed up the Pentagon-funded PR campaign for Bell Pottinger in occupied Iraq which included production of fake Al Qaeda videos, according to O’Hare. The firm is headed by Nigel Oakes, who, according to the website, PowerBase, has links to the British royals and was once rumored to be associated with MI5.

Oakes says he uses the same techniques as Aristotle and Hitler. The president of SCL is Sir Geoffrey Pattie, the Defense Secretary in Margaret Thatcher’s government.  “The British military and royal establishment links to SCL are further highlighted by another Director, Rear Adm. John Tolhurst, a former Assistant Director of Naval Warfare in the Ministry of Defense and aide de camp to the Queen,” according to O’Hare’s profile.

O’Hare ends his stunning profile with the following words: “We finally have the most concrete evidence yet of shadowy actors using dirty tricks in order to rig elections.  But these characters aren’t operating from Moscow intelligence bunkers. Instead they are British, Eton educated, headquartered in the City of London and have close ties to Her Majesty’s government.”