FBI: Russia hacked GOP organizations, old RNC emails

Old Republican National Committee email domains and state-level organizations and campaigns were all penetrated by Russian hackers in the run up to the 2016 election, FBI Director James Comey confirmed Tuesday.

In a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Comey said for the first time Russian hackers accessed Republican groups as well as the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.

Comey said at the hearing the RNC had been penetrated, but a spokesman for the organization said the emails were accessed through a third-party vendor and the RNC itself was never hacked.

"There were successful penetrations of some groups and campaigns, particularly at the state level, on the Republican side of the aisle, and some limited penetration of old Republican National Committee domains," the spokesman said.

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