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Russians suspected in Clinton campaign computer hack

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton greet members of the audience at a rally at K’NEX, a toy company in Hatfield, Pa.,Friday, July 29, 2016. Clinton and Kaine begin a three day bus tour through the rust belt.

Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign confirmed that one of its data programs was accessed by hackers, the latest development in what cybersecurity experts call a broad campaign by Russian operatives to infiltrate U.S. political organizations.

“An analytics data program maintained by the DNC, and used by our campaign and a number of other entities, was accessed as part of” a previously disclosed attack on the Democratic National Committee, campaign spokesman Nick Merrill said today in an e-mailed statement. “Our campaign computer system has been under review by outside cyber security experts. To date, they have found no evidence that our internal systems have been compromised.”

The FBI has begun a review of whether the Clinton campaign was hacked, according to a person familiar with the probe who asked not to be identified discussing an internal inquiry.

The campaign’s announcement came hours after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which raises funds to elect House Democrats, said that it, too, was “the target of a cybersecurity incident.” Meredith Kelly, press secretary for the organization, said the DCCC was “cooperating with the federal law enforcement agencies with respect to their ongoing investigation.”

Attacks on Democratic organizations, including the DNC, have roiled the 2016 political campaigns. The disclosure by WikiLeaks of purloined party e-mails forced the head of the DNC to resign as Democrats gathered for their presidential convention. The breach has stirred allegations that Russia is seeking to meddle in the U.S. election, an assertion Russian officials have repeatedly denied.

“Any of the allegations that circulate here in the U.S. about Russia’s involvement are groundless,” Yury Melnik, a spokesman for Russia’s embassy in Washington, said today in a phone interview. “There’s no attempts whatsoever to meddle with the political process or the results of the election. The Russian government is ready and willing to work with the current administration and any future administration.”

In a statement today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it’s “aware of media reporting on cyber intrusions involving multiple political entities, and is working to determine the accuracy, nature and scope of these matters.”

“The cyber threat environment continues to evolve as cyber actors target all sectors and their data,” the agency said. “The FBI takes seriously any allegations of intrusions, and we will continue to hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace.”

The attack on the Democrats’ House campaign committee affected visitors who went to its website from June 19 to June 27, cybersecurity company FireEye Inc. concluded, based on an analysis of internet traffic.

Those visitors were steered to a server controlled by a hacking group known as APT 28, said John Hultquist, FireEye’s manager of cyber espionage intelligence. Other cybersecurity researchers have said APT 28 is an arm of Russia’s military intelligence service GRU, he said.

The DCCC website was altered so that visitors seeking to make a donation were redirected to a server controlled by hackers linked to the Russian government, Hultquist said.The cybersecurity company hasn’t been able to determine if the hackers intercepted the donations or succeeded in planting malware on the computers of those visitors, Hultquist said.

The attack on the DNC resulted in the theft of e-mail and internal reports, some of which have since been published by WikiLeaks. Russia is a leading suspect in that intrusion, according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the probe who asked to not be identified because the inquiry is continuing. Private cybersecurity companies have said they traced the DNC attack to groups in Russia.

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was forced to resign after a firestorm over leaked e-mails that showed committee staffers favored Clinton and attempted to undermine Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In response to speculation that Russia is attempting to influence the outcome of the U.S. presidential race — and might even seek ways to tamper with electronic voting — Eric Schultz, a White House spokesman, said today, “As we’ve seen in the past, Russia has tried to influence elections in Europe. We take seriously their past record on this. We also take seriously the integrity of our voting system.”

Clinton adviser Jake Sullivan said Wednesday that the nominee has been briefed on hacking of the DNC and has been told that the weight of expert opinion is that Russia was involved.

“She does not view this as a political issue, she views this as a national security issue,” he told reporters gathered in Philadelphia for this week’s Democratic National Convention. Russia has a history of interfering in elections in other countries, he said.

“Unlike Donald Trump, who praises Putin” and adopts his positions, “Secretary Clinton will stand up to Putin,” Sullivan said.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, this week urged Russia to make public “30,000 e-mails that are missing” from the private server that Clinton maintained when she was secretary of state. He later said he was being “sarcastic.”

83 responses to “Russians suspected in Clinton campaign computer hack”

  1. sarge22 says:

    batch of emails to be released by WikiLeaks will lead to arrest of Hillary Clinton – Julian Assange….
    The Sea Hag looking appalling unappealing wild-eyed and sounding utterly unelectable. If you can’t charge her you may console yourselves by witnessing her own self-immolation.

    She looks and sounds like hell. No way she will be able to salvage her election hopes after tonight’s dog and pony show.

    And once in office, Trump will buddy up with Putin, scour/torch the cowardly ISIS scum from the face of the planet and forestall WW3. And maybe the economy gets a boost to boot.

    • Sandys says:

      Hillary will keep the country moving in the right direction. She won’t be afraid to take justifiable action; Remember the chicken hawks, Bush/Cheney, but it took Pres.Obama to bring back the economy, get Bin Laden and got us a healthcare program. PS Right now I can hear fatso Trump telling Russia to hack us. What a tub of lard.

      • Keonigohan says:

        What’s your take on Kim Jong-un wanting all his wardrobe back from your hiLIARy…hiLIARy is not answering his emails!

      • AhiPoke says:

        Wow, I didn’t realize that Obama single handedly brought back the economy and killed Bin Laden. Thanks for letting me know.

        • Sandys says:

          Where have you been? After 911, Bush/Cheney sat on their butts and did nothing except take care of their rich donors. Pres. Obama set the tone and that is how Bin Laden was taken care of. Presidents set the course so no, he didn’t go out by himself but wingnuts tend to think like that.

        • st1d says:

          then, obama abandoned doctor shakil afridi, who positively identified bin laden by collecting blood samples from bin laden. dr afridi placed himself in extreme risk to assist the u.s. in capturing bin laden.

          obama left dr afridi behind in pakistan to be arrested and jailed for his assisting the u.s.

          that’s the message obama sends to the oppressed, if you help the u.s., you will be abandoned and left to rot in jail or worse.

        • mitt_grund says:

          George Bush, the Younger, when told that bin Ladin was the head terrorist for 9/11, quickly gathered up the bin Ladin relatives in the US and sent them back to Saudi Arabia to protect them from investigation. Turns out the bin Ladins were family friends of the Bush family.

        • sarge22 says:

          We all know that. Jeb took the heat this time. So what’s new.

        • lespark says:

          Obama and Hillary took sniper fire in Bosnia.

        • justmyview371 says:

          And that’s Bill Clinton above. He was advised that the military had the opportunity to take out Bin Laden, but he was to busy with other things.

      • sluggah says:

        Rather than address the content of the hacked emails and voice transcripts, the dems attack Trump. It shows that they are true and they are trying to divert attention from the sleazy way they do business. Wake up, people, they are not trying to help you, they are helping themselves to our money, along with money from the Saudis, Iranians, Chinese and whoever wants to pony up.

      • lespark says:

        Have you been in a coma for the last 8 years.

      • justmyview371 says:

        In other words, she will do what Obama tells her to do.

        • cojef says:

          No! It’s the power brokers that aims for globalization or One-World Order. Euro-Union was a start but the British broke away. They lull you into thinking its for equality, yet is it is only for the insiders!

    • NanakuliBoss says:

      Lol. That from a lowly sarge.

    • lespark says:

      What? Another one? The DemocRats have to take better care of their IT. They got more holes in it than Swiss cheese. With all the problems they’re having they should fix the problems and clean their back yard instead of blaming Trusted Trump and Pure Putin.

      • Sandys says:

        Can’t trust Trump more than you can throw that tub of lard. The Dems are miles ahead of the Repubs and Russia. What they’re hacking is not super secret stuff but it’s OK for them to think it’s super secret.

        • sarge22 says:

          We sure can’t trust lying crooked rotten HiLIARy. Lest we forget. Here you go—Here’s a full transcript of the exchange:

          Gowdy: Good morning, Director Comey. Secretary Clinton said she never sent or received any classified information over her private e-mail, was that true?
          Comey: Our investigation found that there was classified information sent.

          Gowdy: It was not true?

          Comey: That’s what I said.

          Gowdy: OK. Well, I’m looking for a shorter answer so you and I are not here quite as long. Secretary Clinton said there was nothing marked classified on her e-mails sent or received. Was that true?

          Comey: That’s not true. There were a small number of portion markings on I think three of the documents.

          Gowdy: Secretary Clinton said “I did not e-mail any classified information to anyone on my e-mail there was no classified material.” That is true?

          Comey: There was classified information emailed.

          Gowdy: Secretary Clinton used one device, was that true?

          Comey: She used multiple devices during the four years of her term as Secretary of State.

          Gowdy: Secretary Clinton said all work related emails were returned to the State Department. Was that true?

          Comey: No. We found work related email, thousands, that were not returned.

          Gowdy: Secretary Clinton said neither she or anyone else deleted work related emails from her personal account.

          Comey: That’s a harder one to answer. We found traces of work related emails in — on devices or in space. Whether they were deleted or when a server was changed out something happened to them, there’s no doubt that the work related emails that were removed electronically from the email system.

          Gowdy: Secretary Clinton said her lawyers read every one of the emails and were overly inclusive. Did her lawyers read the email content individually?

          Comey: No.

          Gowdy: Well, in the interest of time and because I have a plane to catch tomorrow afternoon, I’m not going to go through any more of the false statements but I am going to ask you to put on your old hat. Faults exculpatory statements are used for what?

          Comey: Well, either for a substantive prosecution or evidence of intent in a criminal prosecution.

          Gowdy: Exactly. Intent and consciousness of guilt, right?

          Comey: That is right?

          keaukaha says:
          July 29, 2016 at 2:51 pm
          Gowdy is a republican. How you figgah?…

        • Sandys says:

          Sarge, and what charges did Comey bring against Hillary after her great 12 hour testimony?

        • sarge22 says:

          He presents the evidence not the one to press charges.

        • lespark says:

          There were at least 200 hundred bureaucrats literally fighting to keep their jobs. They said and did what they had to do including lieing.
          Come January 23 there will be a long unemployment line in DC.
          Moving trucks will line Pennsylvania Avenue.

    • ryan02 says:

      Putin HATES the united States. HATES it. Putin may be vicious and crazy, but he’s also smart. He know that Trump is the WORST candidate for the USA, the one who be bring ruin to our country. That’s why he wants Trump to win, because Trump means ruin for the country Putin despises. If you despise the USA too, then go ahead and vote for Trump.

      • sarge22 says:

        So that is why Hillary and Putin are sharing CLASSIFIED EMAILS. Let’s be friends.

      • Cellodad says:

        That’s probably not the case. Putin needs externalities like the US and restoration of Greater Russia to focus national attention on. If the US were to disappear, he would have to manufacture another one. Without a perceived external threat, he might be held accountable for domestic social and economic issues. My guess is that he perceives that Trump would be easiest to manipulate as the US President.

        • nodaddynotthebelt says:

          In all due respect, I don’t think that’s the case. Russia would probably be happy if the US was gone. Then they can write in a blank check as there would be no strong opposition to them. I think Russia wants Trump to win as he would be the easiest of targets due to his past dealings and the willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals many of which is to further his ego and financial empire.

    • mitt_grund says:

      Sarge22 – IQ level, 22? – Sie haben die mentalische Faehigkeiten eines Maikaefers.

    • Valleyisle57 says:

      What are you smoking ???

  2. Denominator says:

    It was Hillary that personally hit the Russian Reset button. It was Obama/Clinton that lifted sanctions on Russia for selling arms to Iran. The whole world knows that Putin thinks Obama is a cocky lap dog. Anyone saying Clinton will stand up to Russia is only speculating, as it has certainly not happened in the past when opportunities were present.

    • bsdetection says:

      Regarding Trump’s high level of connections to Russia, Max Boot of the Los Angeles Times wrote, “The Trump campaign has an astonishing number of connections to Russia, as many analysts have discovered. Max Boot writes:
      “Trump has sought and received funding from Russian investors for his business ventures, especially after most American banks stopped lending to him following his multiple bankruptcies. Trump’s de facto campaign manager, Paul Manafort, was a longtime consultant to Viktor Yanukovich, the Russian-backed president of Ukraine who was overthrown in 2014. Manafort also has done multimillion-dollar business deals with Russian oligarchs.
      Trump’s foreign policy advisor Carter Page has his own business ties to the state-controlled Russian oil giant Gazprom. He recently delivered a speech in Moscow slamming the United States for its “hypocritical focus on ideas such as democratization” and praising Russia for a foreign policy supposedly built on “noninterference,” “tolerance” and “respect.” (Try telling that to Ukraine.) Another Trump foreign policy advisor, retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, flew to Moscow last year to attend a gala banquet celebrating Russia Today, the Kremlin’s propaganda channel, and was seated at the head table near Putin. Flynn is a regular guest on Russia Today; he refuses to say whether he gets paid.”

      • mitt_grund says:

        His son Don, Jr., who seems to be as patriotic as the Donald is, in a bit of transparent talk, said Trump Enterprises has a third of its holdings in Russia.

        Telling, eh, where Trump’s loyalties will be, where his wallet is.

    • Sandys says:

      Well, it looks like Repubs are kissing up to the Russians. My how the Repubs have fallen from the days of Eisenhower.

      • bumbai says:

        I sense desperation

        • sarge22 says:

          That’s for sure.”Tub of Lard” The only lard I saw was in a pant suit. Too funny

      • sarge22 says:

        The Clintons are kissing up to the Russians. Check it out…http://www.clintoncashbook.com/… In 2000, Bill and Hillary Clinton owed millions of dollars in legal debt. Since then, they’ve earned over $130 million. Where did the money come from?
        In his New York Times bestselling books Extortion and Throw Them All Out, Schweizer detailed patterns of official corruption in Washington that led to congressional resignations and new ethics laws.

        In Clinton Cash, he follows the Clinton money trail, revealing the connection between their personal fortune, their “close personal friends”, the Clinton Foundation, foreign nations, and some of the highest ranks of government.

        Schweizer reveals the Clinton’s troubling dealings in Kazakhstan, Colombia, Haiti, and other places at the “wild west” fringe of the global economy. In this blockbuster exposé, Schweizer merely presents the troubling facts he’s uncovered. Meticulously researched and scrupulously sourced, filled with headline-making revelations, Clinton Cash raises serious questions of judgment, of possible indebtedness to an array of foreign interests, and ultimately, of fitness for high public office.

        • Sandys says:

          Schweitzer is just a right wing political hack; younger than most of my former students.

  3. NanakuliBoss says:

    Any American that encourages foreign espionage against the USA, should be locked up and waterboarded. By saying” Wellllllll, I was just being sarcastic” is not a defense. It’s stuupid.

    • mitt_grund says:

      Technically, what Trump was advocating is treason. So, of course the next day, courageous and smart man that he is, he said he was being sarcastic.

      With regard to Putin, he declared he has never met the man, yet during the primaries, he was bragging that he had met Putin, and although briefly, had found themselves to be sympatico. So, which is the lie? Yeah, Trump is a consummate liar. On national security, yet, and his story changes by the minute.

    • Ronin006 says:

      Exactly when and how did Trump encourage foreign espionage against the USA? You seem to forget or do not know that it was the DNC, the Clinton Campaign and even President Obama that said the hackings appeared to have been done by Russia. Trump merely picked up and that and encouraged Russia to turn over to the FBI the emails they may have hacked.

  4. den says:

    Putin would never tell the people that work for Russia’s embassy anything anyway.

  5. noheawilli says:

    And as Sec of State she kept a private server? And this lady is the nominated one? Have we (well a 1/3 of this country) all gone insane? This is a great example of how incompetent she is and cannot be trusted with an apartment key much less the presidency. Go ahead and knock Trump too, I’m voting for Gary Johnson.

    • hawaiikone says:

      If Johnson gets into the debates, and it’s looking very good, having him talk to about what he’s going to do, and has done, will be such a refreshing change from one person threatening the world and the other promising it.

      • sarge22 says:

        Did you see what happened to Kasich? Johnson will probably get the same treatment. Look what they have done to Ron Paul in the past. They still haven’t audited the FED.

        • hawaiikone says:

          Sarge, “they” is us. Had the GOP nominated either Paul or Kasich, it would have been a cakewalk. Now we’re left with T&H. No thanks. Two wrongs don’t make a right, but enough lefts and rights choose to ignore their party line, and Johnson gets in. Wait for the debates. You’ll see what I mean.

      • sarge22 says:

        Hawaii..The way I see it.They are the establishment and we are the anti. GOP and DNC races very similar Johnson would be better but I think Trump has a better chance of winning. Anxious to see the debates.

    • Shellback says:

      I also intend to vote for Gary Johnson!

  6. NiteMarcher says:

    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange denounced the Democratic Party’s claims that its emails were published as part of a Donald Trump-Vladimir Putin plot to make their party look bad, calling them both groundless and an attempt to create a distraction.
    In an interview with NBC News, Mr. Assange said that while “we have not disclosed our source,” he rebuffed claims of Russian involvement.

    “Well, there is no proof of that whatsoever,” he said, going on to note the strong Democratic incentive to make “the story” something other than what’s in the emails.

    “This is a diversion that’s being pushed by the Hillary Clinton campaign. That’s a meta-story. The real story is what these emails contain and they show collusion” by top party leaders to rig the presidential-primary process in favor of Mrs. Clinton, he said.

    • mitt_grund says:

      What do you think he would say, that yes, he is in cahoots with Russia and Trump? Gullible is as gullible does. Assange is just an egotistic a@@h@le who does this stuff to prove he’s a macho man. Sort of like the Drumpf Trumpf.

  7. bumbai says:

    At least Edward Snowden has a new job.

  8. CEI says:

    Maybe the Russians will stumble across the e-mails Bill’s wife deleted from her private server. Or maybe they’ll find the deleted IRS e-mails regarding the targeting of conservative tax exempt groups.

    • Cellodad says:

      …or maybe the Russians can find Mr. Trumps Tax Returns. He seems to be having a little difficulty doing so himself.

      • sarge22 says:

        Maybe the Russians have the e-mails Bill’s wife deleted from her private server and are waiting for the right time to release them. Or maybe they already have the deleted IRS e-mails regarding the targeting of conservative tax exempt groups. Maybe maybe maybe We live in interesting times.

        • cojef says:

          If they have than they can use it over hillary’s head, threatening impeachment should she be elected to the potus. Could be if you let your senses run wild like most of the post thus far???

        • Sandys says:

          You wingnuts live in lala land. It’s a lot of “what if”

  9. justmyview371 says:

    Yeah, I knew it — Blame Trump! That’s what they want people to think. It’s more likely that it was the Chinese or another country.

  10. lespark says:

    Obama bans cabinet from speaking at DNC but let’s every Tom, Dick and Harry. What’s up with that?

  11. WizardOfMoa says:

    Sigh! The enemies of our country are probably and gleefully love the dissension among us! In a military engagements with an enemy, dissensions among the ranks can be easily overcome by the enemies ! Our America seem to forget we need to be united with the same ideals and love of country to maintain our global strength against those who want to destroy us!

  12. EwaWarrior says:

    At this point, what difference does it make? The Clinton’s and the DNC rigged it so Hillary would be the nominee. I guess that’s what you call democracy at it’s finest!

  13. justmyview371 says:

    Oh, boo hoo! Groveling for votes.

  14. lespark says:

    Extremely Careless.

  15. lespark says:

    Everything is supposed to be transparent. If this is how they handle email we are finished. If they have subterfuge in a simple email imagine the dirt they have on her. The FBI can’t crack ISIS because they encrypt their email. I suggest the DNC either do that or don’t talk stink where people can find it. Just look at the trash talking? Bad example. Democrats at its worse. Shameful. Extremely careless. I hope Crooked Hilliary doesn’t start WW3 because of a misplaced email and blame it on Trump. A lot of people will be killed like the 4 from Benghazi while she takes a nap.

  16. nomu1001 says:

    It would make more sense that these attacks are intended to damage the credibility of American politics. If so, they will not stop with the Democratic Party. We’ll see, but this is an extremely serious issue that must be dealt with sooner rather than later.

  17. lespark says:

    I’m thinking wIth all the dealings the Clinton Foundation had with Russia while she was Madame Secretary – Uranium 1, the pay for play, money laundering, illegal donations, Bill’s speaking fees, is why she had to scrub her server to delete the incrimination. She never thought they’d find out if not for the Benghazi investigation. Dirty Hilliary.

  18. Jerry_D says:

    Looks like Trump called it!

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