Trump: China Hacked Hillary Clinton's Emails

U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Twitter on Wednesday that China hacked Hillary Clinton's emails, which contained confidential information. However, he provided no evidence to support his claim. According to Reuters, Trump wrote shortly after midnight that many of Clinton's emails were hacked by China. He advised the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice to take action on this matter, or else 'their credibility will be forever lost.' In a previous tweet on Tuesday evening, he claimed, 'China hacked Hillary Clinton's personal email server. Are they sure it wasn't Russia (just kidding)? How likely is it that the FBI and the Department of Justice are investigating this? This is a serious matter. There is a lot of confidential information involved.' A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated at a press conference on Wednesday that these accusations are not new, adding, 'This is not the first time we have heard similar claims.' Without naming Trump or Clinton, the spokesperson said, 'China is a staunch defender of cybersecurity. We oppose cyberattacks and information theft and combat them.' Reuters adds that U.S. security agencies have stated that Russia directed the hacking of the Democratic Party officials' computer networks to interfere with the results of the 2016 presidential election. A U.S. federal court indicted 12 Russian security agents in July for hacking Clinton's and the Democratic Party's computer networks. Robert Mueller, the special counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice, is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and the possibility of collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia. The Russian government has denied interfering in the U.S. elections, and Trump has also denied collusion with Russia. In April 2017, Trump had also claimed that China might have hacked the emails of Democratic Party officials to interfere in the 2017 elections, providing no evidence for that claim either. The Chinese government has consistently denied any involvement in cyberattacks in other countries. China and the U.S., whose relations are typically tense, are currently engaged in an escalating trade war.