Wikileaks denies Russia provided access to Clinton emails

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has denied that the Russian government was the source of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's emails that were published this year, a media report said on Thursday.

"The Clinton camp has been able to project a hysteria that Russia is responsible for everything. Hillary Clinton has stated multiple times, falsely, that 17 US intelligence agencies had assessed that Russia was the source of our publications. That's false -- we can say that the Russian government is not the source," Assange told Russia's RT news in an exclusive interview from the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he has been living for four years.

Assange also accused the US presidential candidate of being a pawn of behind-the-scenes interests, and voiced doubts about her physical fitness to take charge of the White House.

"Hillary Clinton is just one person. I actually feel quite sorry for Hillary Clinton as a person, because I see someone who is eaten alive by their ambitions, tormented literally to the point where they become sick -- for example faint -- as a result of going on, and going with their ambitions. But she represents a whole network of people, and a whole network of relationships with particular states," the whistleblower said.

Over the past nine months, WikiLeaks uploaded over 30,000 emails from Hillary Clinton's private email server, while she was Secretary of State (2009-2013).

This was followed by nearly 20,000 emails sent to and by members of the US Democratic National Committee, exposing the party leadership's dismissive attitude towards Bernie Sanders, and his outsider primaries campaign.

Last month, WikiLeaks posted over 50,000 emails connected to John Podesta, former President Bill Clinton's chief of staff, and a close associate of the current presidential frontrunner.

The US Homeland Security Department and Office of the Director of National Intelligence posted a joint statement in October, claiming they were "confident" that the Russian government "directed" the leaks.

Russia has rejected the accusations.

--IANS

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