It's official: Russia tampered with the 2016 election via hackers

The United States formally accused Russia of tampering with the 2016 election. According to a joint report by the F.B.I. and Department of Homeland Security issued Thursday, Russian intelligence operatives gained access to "a U.S. political party"--presumably the Democratic National Committee--in two separate instances, and were able to steal files from the organization and people involved with it. The report's release coincided with the announcement of sanctions against Russia, including the expulsion of 35 diplomats. The report confirms previous reports about the hacking of the D.N.C., which led to the leak of emails that sparked a variety of conspiracies and accusations of bias. Cybersecurity experts who investigated the DNC hack found similar strategies were used to gain access to computers to then steal files and other security credentials.