Hacked by Russians

Democrats to GOP: Don't use internal memo hacked by Russians

By Rachael Bade

If Russian hackers who breached Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee computers wanted to jostle the left, they’ve certainly succeeded.

Officials at the House Democratic campaign arm appear very worried that their negative assessments about their own candidates, which were hacked and released publicly by a group linked to Russian intelligence, will be used against them by Republicans. DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján, in a letter Monday to his counterpart, National Republican Campaign Committee Chairman Greg Walden, asked the Oregon Republican to bar all Republicans from using the DCCC internal memo with the damaging information in ads against Democrats.

Luján argued that the memo could have been doctored, so Republicans' use of it would essentially be “aiding the Russian government" in their attempt to sway U.S. elections.

“The Russians have a long track record of doctoring documents acquired through cyberattacks, and while we cannot confirm their authenticity, their appearance online is certainly a notable concern,” Luján wrote. “The NRCC’s use of documents stolen by the Russians plays right into the hands of one of the United States’ most dangerous adversaries. Put simply, if this action continues, the NRCC will be complicit in aiding the Russian government in its effort to influence American elections.”

The DCCC, however, refuses to say whether the information in the DCCC memo was altered or not, citing an ongoing FBI investigation. Much of the information in the memo has already been confirmed and reported by local media, making it fair game for Republicans regardless.

The NRCC sparked the debate last week when it aired a digital ad attacking Randy Perkins, a Democrat running in Florida's 18th District, over his company’s alleged over-charging of a school district for contracted work. Florida press had covered the legal dispute, and the back-and-forth was listed on the hacked DCCC internal memo as potentially problematic for their candidate.

"Even Democratic Party bosses are questioning his character," the narrator said in the ad, which included a photo of the internal memo.

The NRCC defended the ad in a statement Tuesday.

“The shady business practices deployed by Randy Perkins highlighted in the digital ad have been well documented through various news outlets and even in Mr. Perkins’ own testimony before Congress,” said NRCC spokeswoman Katie Martin. “It’s not our fault the DCCC recruited a candidate so flawed that they knew he was a liability from the very beginning.”

She also noted that the NRCC has “no control over what our independent expenditure unit does, which the DCCC chairman, Ben Ray Luján, is well aware of.”

A DCCC source said Democrats were mostly concerned about the NRCC’s reference to a “DCCC Internal Memo, 4/8/16” in that ad, not about the actual negative reports against Perkins, which has been well documented in Florida.

The letter notes that Rep. Ryan Costello, a vulnerable Republican in Pennsylvania, said his campaign “will not use information contained in the hacking as an opportunity to attack our opponent, Mike Parrish.”

Luján asked the NRCC to follow in Costello's footsteps.

“I urge you to announce that you oppose any use by the NRCC and other Republican campaigns of materials stolen by the Russians,” the letter states. “This is the only appropriate and patriotic way to respond to this Russian attack on our democracy.”