Hackers have already claimed one scalp, as Wikileaks published thousands of emails stolen from DNC servers, leading to DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s resignation. But indications are that neither Wikileaks, nor the hackers providing Wikileaks with content, are finished.
The DNC is believed to be bracing for the release more of its own hacked emails, for starters. The 30,000 emails released on Friday only represent a period of time between June of 2010 and early 2016 (when the primaries were just heating up) but do cover plenty of ground, from the sale of political offices to Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s bizarre official demands.
The DNC seems to believe what Wikileaks published was simply a curated selection of years worth of communication. They don’t know, officially, whether the hackers — and Wikileaks — have any more private emails at their disposal.
Julian Assange, Wikileaks’s founder, insists that they — and their candidate Hillary Clinton — have something very serious to worry about. In an exclusive interview with ITV, Assange insisted that he had more to drop on the Democratic nominee, including, possibly, information related to her private email server. The dump, Assange claims, will contain “enough evidence” to indict the former Secretary of State.
“We have emails relating to Hillary Clinton which are pending publication,” he told ITV.
That led some on social media to suspect Assange is also in possession of the contents of Hillary’s Chappaqua bathroom server, which was far less secure than the DNC’s. After all, a “rigged” process is disappointing, but perhaps not technically illegal.
Assange has, reportedly, wanted a direct strike on Hillary Clinton, who as Secretary of State in 2010 asked President Barack Obama to prosecute Wikileaks following publication of classified State Department cables.
Wikileaks itself lashed out against USAID and others following the Panama Papers report in April, claiming that that leak of thousands of banking documents from some of the world’s richest people was a deliberate attack on Vladimir Putin.
But whether Assange can make good on his threat to dethrone “corrupt” Hillary Clinton remains to be seen. Assange has occasionally threatened to release “poison pill” documents that don’t materialize and once led journalists on for a year, promising to release thousands of Bank of America documents purporting to expose the secrets of the banking world.
In this case, too, Assange is torn on whether his efforts will be effective. Assange told ITV that he doesn’t trust Attorney General Loretta Lynch will follow up on what he’s about to release. Noting that Lynch may be too tied in with the Clintons, “the FBI can push for concessions from the new Clinton government in exchange for its lack of indictment.”