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‘No doubt’ Moscow is behind hacking election systems, top Dem says

A ballot drop box is pictured as supporters line up to see Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speak at a rally at Xfinity Arena in Everett, Washington on August 30, 2016. (photos by AFP)

A top Democratic lawmaker says there is “no doubt” within the party that Russia is responsible for hacking attempts against election systems in the run-up to the US 2016 presidential election.

California Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee in the US House of Representatives, pointed the finger at Kremlin during an interview with ABC on Saturday after GOP nominee Donald Trump questioned the Democrats’ certainty about who is behind the attempts.

The campaign of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has been having a hard time due to hacking attempts, one of which led to resignation of Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

"It could be Russia, but it could also be China," Trump told Clinton in the first national debate between the two. "It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds."

Schiff sounded confident, asserting, "I have no doubt [this is Russia]. And I don't think the administration has any doubt.”

Russian authorities have already dismissed any suggestions that Moscow might be behind the cyber attacks.

According to Schiff (pictured below), such attacks could "sow discord" on Election Day while leaks of doctored emails are not easy to disprove although they could simultaneously "be election altering."

On Saturday, the Free Beacon released an audio clip related to a private Clinton fundraiser hosted by former US ambassador Beatrice Welters in Virginia in February, in which the former secretary of state is heard calling her ally’s supporters "children of the Great Recession," who are "living in their parents’ basement."

The audio clip infuriated some of Senator Bernie Sanders’ supporters although Sanders himself later defended most of what she had to say at the gathering.

Meanwhile, the United States Department of Homeland Security is cautioning authorities to watch out for cyber attacks in the run-up to the vote.

DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson urged state and local election officials Saturday “to seek our cybersecurity assistance” before the Election Day on November 8.


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