Hacker Guccifer 2.0 Claims No Russia Connection to Election-Related Breaches

Hacker Guccifer 2.0 pushed back against U.S. intelligence agencies' assessment that the hacker executed the Russia-backed breaches of IT systems associated with the Democratic National Committee and the campaign of former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton aimed at influencing the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. “These accusations are unfounded,” Guccifer 2.0 said in a Thursday blog post. “I have totally no relation to the Russian government.” An unclassified version of the U.S. intelligence agencies' report on the Russia-led hacks, released last week (see 1701060060), is a “crude fake” that “doesn't stand up to scrutiny,” Guccifer 2.0 said. “It’s obvious that the intelligence agencies are deliberately falsifying evidence. ... They’re playing into the hands of the Democrats who are trying to blame foreign actors for their failure.” Guccifer 2.0 suggested “we'll see more fakes” from President Barack Obama's administration before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated Friday. Trump now believes Russia ordered the election-related hacks. Several cabinet nominees echoed Trump in backing the intelligence report (see 1701110051).