US Presidential Election Hacking Investigation (2016)
The US Presidential Election Hacking Investigation of 2016 centers around allegations that Russian hackers infiltrated the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) computer systems, an act believed to be sanctioned by the Russian government. The investigation began in June 2016, when media reports suggested that cyberattacks aimed at undermining the electoral process were intended to bolster Donald Trump's chances of victory over Hillary Clinton. By December 2016, the CIA was reporting that Russian operatives had hacked the election with the goal of influencing its outcome. In response, President Barack Obama expelled Russian diplomats and imposed sanctions on Russian intelligence agencies.
As the investigation progressed, it became clear that the hacks and subsequent leaks were utilized to damage Clinton's campaign. While Trump acknowledged the existence of Russian hacking, he frequently downplayed its significance and suggested that other nations were also involved in cyber activities against the US. In 2017, the FBI commenced its own investigation into potential collusion between Trump's campaign and Russian efforts to interfere in the electoral process. This inquiry revealed extensive connections between various Trump campaign members and Russian interests, although it stopped short of charging Trump with conspiracy. The hacking incident has since had lasting effects on US politics and diplomatic relations with Russia, raising ongoing discussions about election security and foreign interference.
US Presidential Election Hacking Investigation (2016)
Date: June 2016–
Place: Washington, DC
Summary
Beginning in June 2016, representatives of the US intelligence community released information suggesting that Russian hackers had gained access to computers used by the Democratic National Committee. It was later argued by the media and in a report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that the cyberattack, which was likely sanctioned by Russian government officials, was intended to increase Donald Trump's chances of winning the 2016 presidential election.
Key Events
- June 14, 2016—The Washington Post reports that security experts believe Russian cybercriminals hacked the Democratic National Committee.
- December 9, 2016—The Washington Post reports that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) believes Russian spies hacked the election with the intention of helping Trump win; Trump denies the claim.
- December 29, 2016—President Barack Obama expels thirty-five Russian diplomats and imposes new sanctions on Russian intelligence services.
- January 11, 2017—Trump acknowledges he believes Russia hacked the election but argues that many other people and nations also hacked the United States.
- 2022—Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin admits to interfering with the US election.
Status
In January 2017, the Trump administration acknowledged intelligence reports indicating Russian hackers were involved in an effort to infiltrate computers used in the 2016 presidential election but refused to acknowledge Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and CIA reports that the intention of the cyberattack was to assist Trump in winning the election. On January 25, Russian police announced that they had arrested Sergei Mikhailov, an officer in the Federal Security Service (FSB), which was allegedly involved in the hacking of US election organizations. Mikhailov was arrested on charges of treason along with Ruslan Stoyanov, head of Kaspersky Lab, a cybersecurity company. However, it was not clear whether the men had been arrested in connection with the US hacking scandal. Around the same time, the US Senate announced the beginning of a probe into the election hacking and alleged Russian links to it, to be undertaken by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
In-Depth Overview
In June 2016, the Washington Post reported that Russian cybercriminals had hacked at least one computer system operated by the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, which had been investigating a breach, claimed that at least two groups of Russian hackers, both of which have suspected ties to the Russian government, had infiltrated the DNC's computer network as early as 2015. Initially, no official US government statements were made that definitively held Russia responsible, and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump maintained that there was no evidence to prove Russian involvement.
The significance of the hacking was not immediately apparent, though the cyberattack and subsequent leaks provided information that was used by both journalists and the Trump campaign to criticize Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign. For instance, the Trump campaign cited internal emails from DNC staff criticizing Clinton to make it appear that the Democratic Party was not satisfied with Clinton as a candidate and to attack Clinton's record on cybersecurity. In early October, the Department of Homeland Security reported that the hacking must have been authorized by senior officials in the Russian government; by that point, the general belief was that the Russian government hoped, at the least, to provoke feelings of distrust within the American public regarding the US election system.
The resulting election was controversial—Trump won a close electoral victory and lost the popular vote by almost three million votes. On December 9, the Washington Post reported that CIA experts believed that leaks of documents obtained in the hacking were used intentionally by the Russian government to increase Trump's chances of winning the election. A responding statement from Trump's transition team insinuated that the intelligence community was incompetent and that the entire controversy was an attempt to delegitimize his victory. It was additionally suggested that Russian hackers had also successfully infiltrated the Republican National Committee but had not released any of the data obtained, which was part of the evidence that intelligence agencies used to conclude that a Trump victory was the goal of the cyberattack.
On December 29, President Barack Obama, citing his trust in intelligence findings on the hacking controversy, ejected thirty-five Russian diplomats from the United States and announced new sanctions against two Russian intelligence services. On January 6, 2017, Trump attended an intelligence briefing with top officials in which he was presented with a report compiled by the Office of the National Director of Intelligence that implicated Russian President Vladimir Putin in directly ordering the hacking of the election with the intent of ensuring Trump's victory. After the briefing, Trump admitted that Russia and other countries were involved in cyberattacks against the United States but claimed that the incident had not had any influence on the election. Trump also argued that the hackers had not been able to affect any automatic voting machines used in the election, though none of the organizations involved in the investigation had ever claimed that voting machines were involved.
In July 2016, the FBI opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, whose purpose was to investigate the extent of collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign. In 2017, Trump dismissed FBI Director James Comey for his role in the investigation. His successor, Robert Mueller continued the investigation, eventually indicting twenty-six Russian citizens and three Russian organizations for what he termed sweeping and certain evidence of the Trump campaign's willingness to allow the Russians to interfere with the election. However, the reports stopped short of accusing Trump of conspiracy charges. Studies in subsequent years found both evidence for and against the impact of the Russian hacking in election results; however, the incident had far-reaching implications throughout politics and affected diplomatic arrangements with Russia. Developmentssince the release of the Mueller Report include the 2022 conviction of Republican political operative Jesse Benton for funneling money from Russia to the Trump campaign. Also in 2022, Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin admitted to interfering with the US election. Members of Trump’s campaign and staff, including Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, George Papadopoulos, and many others, were implicated in the scandal as well.
Key Figures
Hillary Clinton: Democratic nominee in the 2016 presidential elections.
Barack Obama: Former president of the United States (2008–16).
Vladimir Putin: President of Russia.
Donald Trump: Republican nominee in the 2016 presidential elections and president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Bibliography
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