Evidence suggests that foreign intelligence agencies are spying on American presidential candidates, the nation’s spy chief said on Wednesday, adding that American officials were working to deter their success.
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“We have already had some indications of [hacking] and a combination of DHS [and] FBI are doing what they can to educate both candidates of potential cyber threats,” Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said during an event hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington. “I anticipate as the campaigns intensify we will probably have more of it.”
Clapper did not name the candidates, but his reference to “both” seems to indicate that at least one prominent contender has been excluded from the briefings. The field of serious Republican contenders has narrowed to one candidate, Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders remain standing on the Democratic side.
It’s hardly remarkable that foreign intelligence agencies would make an effort to spy on the candidates, though the extent of their success was not clear. Retired Gen. Michael Hayden, a former head of the NSA, said in March that it was relatively certain they had successfully accessed Hillary Clinton’s private server in the past.
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“I would lose respect for scores of intelligence organizations around the planet if they were not already thumbing through [Clinton’s] emails,” Hayden said at the time, referring to the 60,000 documents Clinton kept on that server. “I would move heaven and Earth as the director of NSA to get the unclassified emails of several foreign ministers.” Lanny Davis, a chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, seemed to concur in April, saying he “wouldn’t be surprised if it had been hacked. I think that’s what the campaign and Mrs. Clinton [have] said.”
Countries that targeted Clinton’s server included China, Germany, South Korea and Russia.
