FBI probes Democratic email leak by WikiLeaks
BLAMEGAME: Russia accused of trying to influence US presidential election
THE FBI on Monday announced it was investigating the embarrassing hack of Democratic National Committee emails, a breach the Clinton campaign blamed on Russia, accusing Moscow of seeking to influence the United States presidential election.
The emails leaked by WikiLeaks, which reveal that party leaders sought to undermine the campaign of Hillary Clinton’s rival, Bernie Sanders, threw the Democratic National Convention into disarray on its first day, and prompted the party boss to resign.
While experts pointed the finger at Moscow, others urged caution. Russia denied any involvement.
“The FBI is investigating a cyber intrusion involving the DNC to determine the nature and scope of the matter,” the agency said, making no mention of possible culprits.
“A compromise of this nature is something we take very seriously, and the FBI will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace.”
The White House and the State Department deferred to the FBI on whether Russia was to blame, but highlighted that cybersecurity had been an ongoing issue of concern between Washington and Moscow.
State Department spokesman John Kirby said: “I think we need to let the FBI do their work before we try to form any conclusions here about what happened and what the motivation was behind it.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov batted away any suggestion that Moscow was behind the hack, ahead of a meeting yesterday with US counterpart, John Kerry in Laos.
After talks with his Russian counterpart, Kerry said: “With respect to Lavrov, I did raise the issue of DNC. As you know, the FBI is investigating the incident and it’s important for the FBI to do its work before we draw any conclusion.”
But Clinton’s team, looking to tamp down an internal party uproar just days before she becomes the first woman in US history to be formally conferred the presidential nomination by a major party, was quick to point fingers.
“It’s troubling that some experts are now telling us that this was done by the Russians to help Donald Trump,” Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said.
Trump has made no secret of his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, leading some to conjecture that Putin was working to put the real estate billionaire in the White House.
The question of Russian involvement has some precedent. When security firm CrowdStrike revealed that it responded to a suspected DNC breach in April, it identified “two sophisticated adversaries” whom it linked to Russian intelligence. The Washington Post reported that the hackers stole data, including a trove of opposition research on Trump.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said there was “no evidence” Russia was behind the leak, but would not say how the anti-secrecy website obtained the nearly 20,000 DNC emails. AFP
OF HISTORY
Mexican ship, ‘Cuauhtemoc’ taking part in the Tall Ships Races 2016 parade in Lisbon, Portugal, yesterday. It has sailed more than 400,000 nautical miles in 23 years of service to the Mexican navy, for which she provides sail training. The ‘Cuauhtemoc’ is named after the last Aztec emperor, who ruled Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, and was executed by the Spanish in 1522. Reuters pic