Rep. Elijah Cummings and other ranking Democrats have called for an investigation on any possible connections between Donald Trump's campaign and recent cyberattacks. | Getty House Democrats ask FBI to investigate any Trump connection to cyberattacks

Top House Democrats are calling on the FBI to conduct an investigation to determine whether Donald Trump's campaign has any connections to the recent uptick in cyberattacks on U.S. political institutions and state electoral systems.

Reps. Elijah Cummings, John Conyers, Eliot Engel and Bennie Thompson — the ranking members of the House Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, Judiciary, Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security — sent a letter to FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday asking his department to look into whether relationships between Trump campaign officials and Russian authorities may have contributed to the hacks of the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.


The congressmen presented no evidence of any such collusion but noted, “Serious questions have been raised about overt and covert actions by Trump campaign officials on behalf of Russian interests."

“It is critical for the American public to know whether those actions may have directly caused or indirectly motivated attacks against Democratic institutions and our fundamental election process," they wrote.

The six-page letter details numerous comments made by Trump and his campaign officials about Russia that the representatives raised concerns about.

The letter follows a similar one from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who wrote to Comey on Aug. 27 with a similar request. Reid’s letter was first reported by The New York Times.

The FBI has already warned states of potential hacks on their election systems, but Comey declined Tuesday to address the warning the FBI sent out Aug. 18 about the possible hacking of state election offices following breaches in Arizona and Illinois.

"Maybe I can say this," he said. "We take very seriously any effort by any actor, including nation-states, and maybe especially nation-states, that moves beyond the collection of information about our country and that offers the prospect of an effort to influence the conduct of affairs in our country."

Trump’s interests in Russia — and his continued praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin — have raised red flags for many throughout the election cycle, namely when he urged Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails. He later said the remarks were sarcastic.

“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 at a news conference last month. “I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”

Trump also has said he would consider recognizing Crimea as Russian territory and lifting the sanctions against Russia.

Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, has ties to the Russian government through his work for former Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych, who was an ally of Russia. The New York Times reported that secret ledgers in Ukraine show more than $12 million was set aside for Manafort, who has denied the report.

