Trump, without citing evidence, says China hacked Hillary Clinton’s emails

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump asserted early Wednesday, without citing evidence, that Hillary Clinton’s emails were hacked by China, and he said the Justice Department and FBI risked losing their credibility if they did not look into the matter.

Writing on Twitter, Trump alleged that much of the former secretary of state’s email that was hacked contained classified information and called it “a very big story.”

“Hillary Clinton’s Emails, many of which are Classified Information, got hacked by China. Next move better be by the FBI & DOJ or, after all of their other missteps … their credibility will be forever gone!” Trump wrote in a tweet posted shortly after midnight.

Trump provided no details about the alleged hacking, but his tweets came shortly after the online publication of a story by the Daily Caller asserting that a Chinese-owned company operating in the Washington area hacked Clinton’s private server while she was secretary of state and obtained nearly all her emails.

The publication cited “two sources briefed on the matter.”

In an earlier tweet Tuesday night, Trump wrote: “Report just out: ‘China hacked Hillary Clinton’s private Email Server.’ Are they sure it wasn’t Russia (just kidding!)? What are the odds that the FBI and DOJ are right on top of this? Actually, a very big story. Much classified information!”

A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump has long focused on Clinton’s use of a private server as secretary of state and contends that the FBI did not do a sufficient job of investigating the matter. During the 2016 election campaign, in which Trump faced off against Clinton, the FBI announced that it had found no criminal wrongdoing involving Clinton, the Democratic nominee.

Trump’s calls to investigate Clinton and others on “the other side,” as he put it in a recent tweet, have grown louder as the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2106 election continues.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is probing whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia and whether Trump has sought to obstruct the investigation.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said accusations about Chinese hacking were nothing new.

“This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard this kind of accusation,” Hua told a daily news briefing.

“China is a staunch defender of cybersecurity,” she added, without specifically mentioning Trump or Clinton. “We firmly oppose and crack down on any form of internet attacks and the stealing of secrets. 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.”

The Washington Post’s Yang Liu contributed to this story from Beijing.