COLUMNS

What Washington's Rivals Stand to Gain From Hacking the Presidential Campaign

Dec 15, 2016 | 08:00 GMT

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (L) introduces Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in August. Many have accused Russia of trying to damage Clinton's campaign to give her opponent, Donald Trump, a leg up.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (L) introduces Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in August. Many have accused Russia of trying to damage Clinton's campaign to give her opponent, Donald Trump, a leg up.

(JOE RAEDLE/Getty Images)

Earlier this month, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered the intelligence community to conduct a full review of the presidential election before Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2017. The move came amid growing suspicions that Russian intelligence agencies were behind the recent hacking of email accounts belonging to members of the Democratic National Committee and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, John Podesta. Though many people's computers have been compromised before, the fact that the attack targeted prominent political figures during a presidential campaign -- and that tens of thousands of emails gained in the process were subsequently posted to WikiLeaks, an organization with clear connections to Russian intelligence -- has caused an uproar. Regardless of what information authorities find, one thing is for certain: Their conclusions will never satisfy everyone. Instead the issue will continue to cause controversy and contention that, to many U.S. rivals -- including Russia --...

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