Jason Stein, and Mary Spicuzza

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In this fall's congressional elections, political operatives and a super PAC linked to U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan made use of material that was illegally hacked by a group with alleged Russian ties, The New York Times reported.

The disclosure of damaging information about Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has gotten widespread attention, but the role of similar hacks in some congressional races has received less public notice.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, which is endorsed by Ryan, a Janesville Republican, and other House GOP leaders, ran an ad that targeted Florida Democrat Joe Garcia and used material allegedly exposed by a group of hackers operating under the name Guccifer 2.0. Garcia, who lost his race to Republican Carlos Curbelo, also made use of hacked material in criticizing his opponent in the Democratic primary, Annette Taddeo, according to the Times.

The Leadership Fund ad cites a "Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee internal document" as among its source materials, along with other sources like a story in the Miami Herald.

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Federal law bars coordination between candidates like Ryan and super PACs such as the Congressional Leadership Fund and the independent spending arm of the National Republican Campaign Committee. So under that law, Ryan would not have any involvement in the Leadership Fund ad.

Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong had no comment on whether Ryan agreed with the Leadership Fund's decision to use the material.

"Speaker Ryan has said for months that foreign intervention in our elections is unacceptable. In September, he wrote to the states and urged them to enhance the cybersecurity of their election infrastructure. All year, the intelligence community, law enforcement, and state and local election officials have been working to ensure that this election was conducted consistent with our long history of free and fair elections," Strong said.

State Democratic Party spokesman Brandon Weathersby questioned whether Ryan has been aggressive enough.

"There is nothing more important than protecting our democracy. As speaker of the House, Paul Ryan should prioritize the well-being of our country over partisan gains," he said.

Guccifer 2.0 has claimed to be a lone Romanian hacker but authorities in the United States have questioned whether that is a cover identity for Russian intelligence. In addition to a hack of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic National Committee and Clinton were also targeted by hackers in 2016.

Media outlets such as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel have reported on these illegally obtained materials because they contained revelations about candidates for high public office such as Clinton.

Republicans in Wisconsin have criticized prosecutors after an unknown party leaked public materials gathered during a secret probe of Gov. Scott Walker's campaign that was later shut down by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. State Attorney General Brad Schimel is investigating at least one of the potentially illegal leaks in that probe, which were also covered by the Journal Sentinel.

Priebus denies Russian hacking attempts

Ryan on Monday criticized state-sponsored cyber attacks aimed at influencing U.S. elections, but he also insisted the outcome of the election was "clear and decisive."

The CIA reportedly concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election on behalf of President-elect Donald Trump.

But Trump's transition team has questioned the credibility of the CIA and its findings.

Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Ryan have said they support investigations into alleged Russian hacking and attempts to influence elections. Democratic congressional leaders and President Barack Obama have repeatedly expressed concerns about the role Russia played during the campaign.

The recount of Wisconsin's presidential vote found no evidence to suggest that there was any hacking or interference with voting machines or election computers in this state, said Ross Hein, who supervises elections for the Wisconsin Elections Commission.