WikiLeaks drops new batch of emails allegedly stolen from Podesta

WikiLeaks on Monday published 2,000 new documents it claims were stolen from the email files of the chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

The 2,086 emails belonging to John Podesta posted to WikiLeaks’ website on Monday follow a similarly sized batch of messages released on Friday evening. The release also comes shortly after the U.S. government linked the anti-secrecy group to Russian hackers.

{mosads}The messages, which date from as recently as this year, include several discussions about campaign tactics and updates, including how to respond to the revelation that Clinton exclusively used a personal email account run on a private server. The cache of emails released on Friday included what appeared to be portions of controversial speeches Clinton gave to major banks.

In one of the newly released emails, opinion writer Brent Budowsky told Podesta that the Clinton campaign was giving prominence to discussion about President Bill Clinton’s extramarital affairs by trying to limit his media exposure.

“I had a multi-email exchange with someone in the media this morning—a name you would know—who is telling me that there are people close to the Clintons who says WJC’s sex life could be damaging to her,” Budowsky wrote, referring to Bill Clinton.

In others, Clinton allies discussed appointments to President Obama’s cabinet and concerns about the political power of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)

“I am still worried that we will antagonize and activate Elizabeth Warren by opposing a new Glass Steagall,” longtime advisor Mandy Grunwald wrote in an October, 2015 email, referring to a banking law repealed during the Bill Clinton administration.

“I worry about Elizabeth deciding to endorse Bernie,” she added, in a reference to Clinton primary opponent Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

On Friday, shortly before WikiLeaks released the first 2,000 emails it claimed were from Podesta, U.S. intelligence officials suggested the site was being used to spread information stolen by hackers working for the Russian government. 

Disclosures on WikiLeaks and elsewhere “are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts,” the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a joint statement.

“These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process.”

The Clinton campaign appeared to accuse Russia of being behind the WikiLeaks release on Monday, as part of an orchestrated plot to boost Republican nominee Donald Trump. 

“The timing shows you that even Putin knows Trump had a bad weekend and a bad debate,” spokesman Glen Caplin said in a statement.

Trump has dismissed the allegations, and suggested on Sunday that the intelligence analysis was incorrect. 

“Any time anything wrong happens, they like to say the Russians — well she doesn’t know if it’s the Russians doing the hacking,” he said. “Maybe there is no hacking.”

Trump’s presidential campaign on Monday tried to highlight the release of the emails, including one in which a longtime aide to Bill Clinton claimed that “office crap” at the Clinton Foundation contributed to one employee’s mental issues.

“And here…we…go,” tweeted spokesman Jason Miller.

Clinton’s camp accused the GOP nominee of reveling in the Kremlin’s efforts.

“It is absolutely disgraceful that the Trump campaign is cheering on a release today engineered by Vladimir Putin to interfere in this election, and this comes after Donald Trump encouraged more espionage over the summer and continued to deny the hack even happened at Sunday’s debate,” Caplin said.

“It should concern every American that Russia is willing to engage in such hostile acts in order to help Donald Trump become president of the United States.”

This story was updated at 2:46 p.m.