FBI Director Says Agency Was Denied Request to Access John Podesta Phone, DNC Servers

FBI Director Says Agency Was Denied Request to Access John Podesta Phone, DNC Servers
FBI Director James Comey on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on July 7, 2016. Alex Wong/Getty Images
Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips
Breaking News Reporter
|Updated:

FBI Director James Comey said his agency requested access to Democratic National Committee servers and former Hillary Clinton campaign manager John Podesta’s device that were allegedly hacked by Russian state actors during the 2016 election.

Emails sourced from the DNC and Podesta were then allegedly posted on WikiLeaks last year, according to U.S. intelligence officials. However, WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange and operative Craig Murray have denied that Russia was behind the email leaks. Murray suggested the emails came from someone within the Democratic Party.

But the FBI repeatedly requested access to Podesta’s smartphone, which apparently fell on deaf ears, Comey said at a U.S. Senate hearing, according to Fox News. He had to instead rely on findings from a highly respected private company,” Comey added.

Meanwhile, there were “multiple requests at different levels” for access to the devices, Comey said, as quoted by CBS News. “Ultimately what was agreed to is the private company would share with us what they saw,” he said, referring to CrowdStrike, a private security firm.

“Our forensics folks would always prefer to get access to the original device or server involved,” he said.

Comey said neither Podesta or the DNC elaborated on why the FBI was denied access.

John Podesta, Clinton Campaign Chairman, speaks during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 25, 2016. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
John Podesta, Clinton Campaign Chairman, speaks during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 25, 2016. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Jack Phillips
Jack Phillips
Breaking News Reporter
Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter who covers a range of topics, including politics, U.S., and health news. A father of two, Jack grew up in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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