A 2016 Congressional Candidate Asked For—and Received—Information Stolen by Russia

Russian intelligence officers helped out a 2016 candidate for US Congress, by giving that candidate stolen information about their Democratic opponent, according to a Department of Justice indictment released today.

Twelve hackers working for the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence, stole documents from the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and released them via a WordPress account under the moniker Guccifer 2.0, the indictment says. The unnamed Congressional candidate asked Guccifer 2.0 for documents on or around Aug. 15, 2016, and received the files, according to the indictment.

The indictment, compiled by special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into foreign interference into the 2016 election, doesn’t identify the candidate. It says there is no allegation that the hacking campaign affected any election result.

Mueller’s team also notes that someone in “regular contact with senior members” of Trump’s campaign communicated with the Russian agents. At least one person, Roger Stone, a political fixer and sometime advisor to Trump, has already acknowledged contacts with Guccifer 2.0.