The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee have sent a joint letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey, seeking answers to a number of questions related to the agency’s recently announced investigation into the DNC Leak scandal.
U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said in their letter they would like more information about the U.S. government’s response to cyberattacks targeting American political organizations. They likewise raised concerns about the potential influence such breaches by foreign nations could have on the American election process.
“When a foreign intelligence service not only spies on American political organizations, which is bad enough, but then selectively publishes the obtained information in what appear to be attempts to affect our democratic process, it is substantially more troubling,” their letter states. “The integrity of the democratic process is essential to the social contract on which our republic is formed. If foreign intelligence agencies are attempting to undermine that process, the U.S. government should treat such efforts even more seriously than standard espionage.”
In the letter, Grassley and Leahy wrote they were also seeking information regarding how and when federal investigators were notified of the breach, whether the source has been determined, and what is being done in response. Additionally, they requested information about the proactive steps taken to prevent cyberattacks against nongovernmental political organizations and whether current statutes are adequate to address similar hacking crimes.
Click here to read the entire letter.
