President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter late Thursday to address assertions that the DNC is withholding access to it’s servers and refusing to fully cooperate with the FBI in the investigation into the leaked emails.
“If the FBI itself never examined DNC servers, Trump wrote, “how and why are they so sure about hacking”?
“What is going on?” Trump added.
The Democratic National Committee would not allow the FBI to study or see its computer info after it was supposedly hacked by Russia……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017
So how and why are they so sure about hacking if they never even requested an examination of the computer servers? What is going on?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017
While the DNC contends that the FBI has not requested access to its servers, a former senior FBI official told reporters Thursday that the FBI repeatedly asked for access “only to be rebuffed.”
“The DNC had several meetings with representatives of the FBI’s Cyber Division and its Washington (D.C.) Field Office, the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, and U.S. Attorney’s Offices,” said DNC spokesman Eric Walker, adding, “the FBI never requested access to the DNC’s computer servers.”
However, Leo Taddeo, a former special agent in charge of the cyber division of the FBI’s New York office noted “The FBI repeatedly stressed to DNC officials the necessity of obtaining direct access to servers and data, only to be rebuffed until well after the initial compromise had been mitigated.”
“This left the FBI no choice but to rely upon a third party for information. These actions caused significant delays and inhibited the FBI from addressing the intrusion earlier.” Taddeo told reporters at The Hill.
Taddeo noted that the FBI doesn’t usually need direct access to email servers in investigations. However, the Bureau usually asks for access to ‘logs and images.’
“It’s extraordinarily rare for the FBI to get access to the victim’s infrastructure because we could mess it up, “Taddeo said. “We usually ask for the logs and images, and 99 out of a hundred times, that’s sufficient.”
Taddeo noted that direct access is usually only sought by the FBI when there is “a reason to think the victim was going to alter the evidence in some way.”
In further tweets, Trump also questioned why NBC News was able to get access to a top secret report on the matter that President Obama was presented:
How did NBC get "an exclusive look into the top secret report he (Obama) was presented?" Who gave them this report and why? Politics!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017
Trump indicated that he believes it to be another political move to delegitimize him.
Trump also addressed mainstream media claims that he is in league with WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange:
The dishonest media likes saying that I am in Agreement with Julian Assange – wrong. I simply state what he states, it is for the people….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2017
to make up their own minds as to the truth. The media lies to make it look like I am against "Intelligence" when in fact I am a big fan!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2017
Earlier in the week, Trump drew attention to Assange’s assertion that the DNC emails released by WikiLeaks were not obtained by Russia or indeed any state actor.
Julian Assange said "a 14 year old could have hacked Podesta" – why was DNC so careless? Also said Russians did not give him the info!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2017
In further tweets, Trump also asked why the DNC did not have “hacking defenses.”
Somebody hacked the DNC but why did they not have "hacking defense" like the RNC has and why have they not responded to the terrible……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2017
things they did and said (like giving the questions to the debate to H). A total double standard! Media, as usual, gave them a pass.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2017
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