Pelosi calls DNC hack an 'electronic Watergate'

House Democratic leaders are ratcheting up criticism of the Russian cyberattack on Democratic campaign committee computers, calling the hack an “electronic Watergate” and suggesting that Republicans who use the information will also share blame for the crime.

“The Russians broke in. Who did they give the information to? I don’t know. Who dumped it? I don’t know,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said when asked about The New York Times report that the cyberattack goes far beyond what intelligence officials initially thought.


“I do know that this is a Watergate-like electronic break in. And anyone who would exploit for the purpose of embarrassment or something like that is an accomplice to that,” she added.

Pelosi didn’t directly mention Donald Trump but the GOP nominee caused a bipartisan uproar last month last month after urging Russia to hack into Hillary Clinton’s emails.

“I will tell you this, Russia: If you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” Trump said during a press conference.

Trump later said he was being sarcastic but his comments sparked outrage from both Republicans and Democrats and forced House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to issue yet another statement addressing the GOP nominee’s latest controversy.

“Russia is a global menace led by a devious thug. Putin should stay out of this election,” Ryan spokesman Brendan Buck said at the time without mentioning Trump by name.

Intelligence officials now think the email hack infiltrated much more than just the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, possibly impacting the Democratic Governors Association and Hillary Clinton’s campaign, according to the New York Times.

Pelosi told reporters she was aware of the latest report but didn’t know whether she herself had been a target of the hacking.

“We are assessing the damage. I don’t know about the other committees,” Pelosi said.

The ongoing unknowns around the cyberattack — just who was impacted, what hackers were able to obtain and when, if ever, the content will be released — could have serious implications for Democrats leading up to the elections.

Democratic strategists have already warned about the potential for disaster if an “October surprise” of damaging emails is released days before the election.

Democratic National Convention Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and several other top DNC staffers were forced to step down after WikiLeaks released the first batch of stolen DNC emails on the eve of the Democratic National Convention.

“It’s a break in. And we should find out the sources of that, who are responsible for that break in, who they are,” Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) said when asked by POLITICO if the Watergate reference was aimed at Republicans.

“It’s a matter then of finding out who the Russians were working with. It is disturbing that Donald Trump seems very cozy with the Russians and Putin,” he added.