Top Intel Dem: Hacking of French candidate ‘a nightmare scenario’

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Saturday called the hacking of French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron a “nightmare scenario,” citing reports that hackers had leaked a mixture of fake and real documents.

A large cache of emails purportedly from Macron’s campaign were published online Friday, just two days before the French election. Reuters reported a statement from the Macron campaign saying it had been the target of a “massive and co-ordinated hack.”

French officials said Saturday that the leak contained “false information” among the documents. Schiff called this a “dangerous escalation” and warned of its potential consequences.

{mosads}

“Imagine the impact on an election if hackers inserted false information into an email that suggested illegality by a candidate,” Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in his statement.

“In France, with Macron’s campaign, that nightmare scenario may be playing out.”

The French election commission warned media outlets that publication of the stolen emails could influence Sunday’s vote and said that publication of the hacked documents could be a criminal offense.

Macron is leading in the polls a day before Sunday’s election against right-wing National Front candidate Marine Le Pen.