The Department of Justice has identified more than six Russian government officials accused of being involved in hacking the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 U.S. presidential race and stealing sensitive information subsequently published online, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Federal prosecutors have enough evidence to charge each of the alleged Russian hackers and could unseal criminals charges against them as early as 2018, the report said.
The Justice Department declined to comment for the report, and the newspaper’s claims could not immediately be independently verified.
U.S. intelligence officials stated earlier this year that Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized state-sponsored operatives to interfere in the 2016 White House race in order to disrupt the election and damage the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Russian hackers breached the DNC’s computer systems as well as an email account belonging to Mrs. Clinton’s campaign manager, John Podesta, among other targets, before publicizing the stolen data through various conduits including the WikiLeaks website, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment released in January.
While U.S. officials have speculated about Russia’s role in last year’s race since before Election Day, prosecutors have failed so far to formally blame any specific operatives with participating in the hacking. An indictment like that referenced in Thursday’s report may change that, however, since prosecutors would be inclined to identity the suspected perpetrators in order to press charges.
Russian officials did not immediately comment publicly on the Journal’s report but have previously denied meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential race.
President Trump has been reluctant to accept the U.S. intelligence community’s findings with respect to Russia’s role in his election, and previously labeled reports linking state-sponsored hackers to last year’s race “a big Dem scam and excuse for losing the election.”
Investigators in the House, Senate and Department of Justice, including a team led by DOJ-appointed special counsel Robert Mueller, are currently investigating Russia’s involvement in the 2016 U.S. race.
Mr. Mueller’s team has brought charges so far against three members of Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign: chairman Paul Manafort; Mr. Manafort’s business associate Richard Gates; and George Papadopoulos, a former campaign adviser who pleaded guilty last month to lying to the FBI, according to an indictment unsealed on Monday.
The charges being considered against the handful of suspected Russian hackers are not being pursued as part of Mr. Mueller’s probe, Reuters reported Thursday.
The U.S. does not have a formal extradition agreement with Russia, meaning Moscow wouldn’t have to surrender any hacking suspects if and when charges are brought.
The Justice Department charged two Russian intelligence agents earlier this year in connection with breaching hundreds of millions of Yahoo accounts in 2014, but has failed so far to take either into custody.
Separately, federal prosecutors unsealed charges earlier this year against two Russian suspected cybercriminals subsequently arrested while vacationing abroad. Courts in Spain and Greece have since agreed to extradite Russian men Pyotr “Peter” Levashov and Alexander Vinnik, respectively, for unrelated hacking charges.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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