Russian hackers targeted top US generals and statesmen: report

Russian hackers attempted to gain access to the inboxes of various senior U.S. generals and statesmen for more than a year prior to the 2016 presidential election, according to The Associated Press, which obtained a previously unpublished digital hit list.

Between March 2015 and May 2016, Russian hackers reportedly targeted the emails of then-Secretary of State John Kerry, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, then-NATO Supreme Commander and U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, and one of his predecessors, former presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clarke.

In addition to targeting top generals and statesmen, the hackers also attempted to gain access to more than 130 Democratic Party workers, campaign staff and supporters, in addition to various Republicans, according to the AP.

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The hackers also targeted figures outside of the U.S. in Russia, Ukraine, Syria and Georgia, according to the report.

The report comes as special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into alleged ties between Russia’s election interference and the Trump campaign enters a new stage.

The Department of Justice announced on Monday that one of President Trump’s former campaign advisers, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty earlier this month to lying to FBI agents who are investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. 

Prosecutors charged Papadopoulos with lying to investigators about his conversations with a foreign professor who told him that Russians had thousands of emails containing “dirt” on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

President Trump promptly responded to news of Papadopoulos pleading guilty, tweeting that he was a low-level volunteer. 

“Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar,” the president said, despite pictures surfacing showing him and Papadopoulos meeting with other campaign officials during the campaign. 

Also this week, Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who has reported ties to pro-Trump officials in Ukraine, was placed under house arrest after he was charged with conspiracy against the United States, money laundering, false statements and failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. 

Manafort’s business partner Richard Gates has also been indicted. 

The Kremlin told the AP that the notion the country attempted to interfere in the U.S. presidential election was “unfounded.”