Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager predicted Thursday that recent WikiLeaks hacks would ultimately lead back to Donald Trump and his team.
Robby Mook based his guess on a recent interview in which longtime Trump confidante Roger Stone revealed he has been in communication with the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange.
“I think it’s … troubling that we saw Roger Stone admit yet again that he has been in contact with WikiLeaks,” Clinton’s campaign manager told reportersThursday.
“First, it became clear beyond any doubt, thanks to the Department of Homeland Security, that this was perpetrated by the Russians, but now it’s starting through – first through what Roger Stone is saying, and I assume through further events, that this is getting closer and closer to the Trump campaign itself,” Mook said.
Stone stressed in a recent interview that he hasn’t spoken directly with Assange, who is holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012.
WikiLeaks hacked the Democratic National Committee earlier this year and published thousands of unflattering emails, some of which suggested that DNC officials coordinated during the primary to hand Clinton the nomination.
The same hacking group also claimed it hacked the personal email account of the Clinton campaign chair John Podesta. Many of those emails have already been released.
On Thursday, Mook told reporter that the important thing here is not what’s in the emails. Rather, he added, the important thing is to remember that Russian operatives likely played a role in the hackings.
“I think it’s important to always recognize the context of this situation. And that is that the Department of Homeland Security took the unprecedented step of saying beyond any doubt that this hack, and then the leaking of the emails, was perpetrated by the Russian government for the purpose of intervening in the election and trying to affect he outcome in favor of Donald Trump,” Mook said.
He added, “So that should be a chilling fact for everyone. And of course the Russian government in doing this wanted to distract the campaign. Wanted to prevent us from having the opportunity to talk about Secretary Clinton’s enormous, experience, preparation and steady temperament to do the job as president.
“They wanted to prevent us from talking about the detailed plan that she has to create jobs, to help people afford education, health care and so on. So that was the purpose. We’re not going to let it throw us off. I think it’s important for Americans again to reflect on why this is happening and who perpetrated it and for what purpose,” Mook said. “That in my mind is the real story here and what should be troubling to voters.”
