Clinton Camp Accuses Russia Of Hacking DNC To Help Trump

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks about the economy, Tuesday, June 21, 2016, at Fort Hayes Vocational School in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
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Hillary Clinton’s campaign has accused “Russian state actors” of hacking into and releasing Democratic National Committee emails in order to discredit the party and help elect Donald Trump.

“Experts are telling us that Russian state actors broke into the DNC, stole these emails, [and are] releasing these emails for the purpose of helping Donald Trump,” Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.

“I don’t think it’s coincidental that these emails are being released on the eve of our convention here,” he added.

The Clinton campaign also released a statement calling the leak “further evidence the Russian government is trying to influence the outcome of the election.”

WikiLeaks released tens of thousands of emails on Friday that showed senior DNC officials criticizing and mocking Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), embarrassing the party just before its national convention commenced.

DNC chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) has announced she will step down as committee chair after the convention in response to the leaks.

The DNC announced in June that Russian hackers had gained access to its email system.

Trump, who last week changed a plank of the GOP platform to diminish aid to Ukraine and said that the US should not automatically back NATO allies in the case of an attack from Russia, has denied any ties to president Vladimir Putin.

Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort called such suggestions “absurd” in a Sunday interview on ABC.

“What those emails show is that it was a clearly rigged system, and that Bernie Sanders never had a chance,” Manafort said.

Correction: The original version of this post erroneously stated the New York Times had confirmed Russian intelligence agencies were behind the DNC hack. The source of the hack is not yet confirmed.

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