Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Chuck Grassley has asked Hillary Clinton if she knew whether her emails were hacked by "Guccifer" — the noted Romanian who first revealed that the former secretary of state had used a private server.
In a letter Tuesday to Clinton's lawyer, David Kendall, the Iowa Republican referenced a "Meet the Press" interview she gave on Sunday in which she reiterated earlier positions that she was willing to answer "any questions that anybody might have" about the server.
"I hope this means you are reconsidering your refusal to answer the questions I asked you, through your attorney," Grassley said, referring to a January query on the issue. "I also hope it means you will substantively respond to this letter as well."
The letter comes as the FBI continues its inquiry into Clinton's private email server — and the Democratic presidential front-runner could face questioning by investigators.
Known legally as Marcel Lehel Lazar, "Guccifer" was extradited to the United States last month,
LawNewz.com reports. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia in June 2014 for alleged hacking crimes in the United States.
"Mr. Lazar’s public release of hacked emails between Sidney Blumenthal and you was the first public revelation of your @clintonemail.com address," Grassley said in the letter.
He noted news reports that indicate that Lazar "allegedly hacked into the email accounts of Secretary [Colin] Powell and Sidney Blumenthal, among several others.
"It is unclear from court documents and press reports whether Mr. Lazar ever attempted to hack your @clintonemail.com account or if he only had indirect access to your email via Mr. Blumenthal’s account.
"In an interview, Mr. Lazar purportedly claimed he 'had memos Hillary Clinton got as a State Secretary, with CIA briefings [that] were being read by her [and] two other people from the U.S. Government. I used to read her memos for six-seven hours and then I’d get up and do the gardening in the yard,'" Grassley said.
In January 2014, Lazar reportedly began a seven-year jail term in Romania for hacking into the email accounts of several top officials, including the head of the Romanian Intelligence Service.