FBI contradicts Trump's claim about Hillary Clinton's emails being hacked by China
The FBI has contradicted President Donald Trump's unsubstantiated claim that China hacked into the emails of his former campaign rival, Hillary Clinton.
"Hillary Clinton’s Emails, many of which are Classified Information, got hacked by China," Mr Trump tweeted early Wednesday morning. "Next move better be by the FBI & DOJ or, after all of their other missteps ... their credibility will be forever gone!
The president provided no evidence to back up his claim. On Wednesday, an FBI spokesperson told the Washington Post that the agency "has not found any evidence the servers were compromised".
Mr Trump's early-morning tweet followed a report from the Daily Caller, which claimed that "nearly all" of Ms Clinton's emails had been accessed by a Chinese-owned company in Washington, DC during her time as secretary of state. The report was later covered by Fox News, a favourite news source for the president.
A spokesman for Ms Clinton pushed back on the report, telling the Daily Caller: "The FBI spent thousands of hours investigating, and found no evidence of intrusion. That’s a fact."
Ms Clinton's use of a private email server as secretary of state has been a frequent topic of conversation for Mr Trump and his supporters since 2015, when the FBI launched an investigation into her conduct.
The agency eventually found that Ms Clinton had been “extremely careless” in her use of the private email server, but did not recommend charges – a disappointing result for the crowds who chanted "Lock her up!" at Mr Trump's campaign rallies.
The president has since turned his ire against the FBI, accusing it of being biased in its investigation of Ms Clinton, and in its probe of possible Trump campaign collusion with Russia. In his first tweet about the alleged Chinese hacking, Mr Trump wrote: "Report just out: 'China hacked Hillary Clinton’s private Email Server.' Are they sure it wasn’t Russia (just kidding!)?"
The tweet was met with condemnation by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which said they "firmly oppose and crack down on any forms of internet attacks and the stealing of secrets," according to Reuters.
Relations between the US and China have been strained since Mr Trump accused Beijing of predatory trade policies, and placed billions of dollars worth of tariffs on Chinese goods. China responded with matching tariffs on American imports, setting off a trade war between the world's two largest economies.
"China advocates that the international community jointly respond to cybersecurity threats through dialogue and cooperation, on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a briefing.
