While No One Was Looking, an ‘October Surprise’ Happened
A couple hours before vice presidential candidates Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine took the debate stage, the “hacktivist” known as Guccifer 2.0 released an “October surprise.”
“He” hacked the Clinton Foundation’s server:
Many of you have been waiting for this, some even asked me to do it.
So, this is the moment. I hacked the Clinton Foundation server and downloaded hundreds of thousands of docs and donors’ databases.
Hillary Clinton and her staff don’t even bother about the information security. It was just a matter of time to gain access to the Clinton Foundation server.
The post includes what he says is a “screenshot” of one of the server folders he accessed. It identifies subfolders titled “Caucus Leases,” “Caucuses,” “Convention 2016 Files,” “DCCC” (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee), “DNC” (Democratic National Committee), “PAC Fundraisers,” and “Pay to Play.”
If this was an accurate depiction, and actually came from the Clinton Foundation server, it would suggest the charitable nonprofit has been engaged in illegal political activities that go way beyond the concerns of influence peddling during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state. To establish the authenticity of his report, he published a couple of files that are partial lists of foundation donors he allegedly retrieved from the server.
Guccifer 2.0 also published a list he said suggested Democrats were receiving kickbacks from large banking corporations for their support of the Trouble Asset Relief Program. Among the recipients on the list:
- Xavier Beccera
- James Clyburn
- Barney Frank
- Luis Gutierrez
- Steny Hoyer
- Paul Kanjorski
- John Larson
- Carolyn Maloney
- Nancy Pelosi
- Chris Van Hollen
- Mel Watt
- The DCCC
TARP used taxpayer funding to prop up the nation’s banking industry during the Great Recession of 2008. Through the hugely unpopular program, the federal government purchased “toxic” assets and equity in order to strengthen the financial sector.
Donations from large bank corporations has been an issue in the 2016 presidential campaign, as well.
Guccifer 2.0 said he was looking for other means to publish the information in his possession, saying it was “too big” to store in any one location. He also included a postscript congratulatory message to WikiLeaks and Julian Assange on the 10th anniversary of the website’s existence.
