Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Capitol Concerts(WASHINGTON) — Newly revealed emails hacked from the private account of former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell show the retired four-star general repeatedly blasting Donald Trump, describing him as a “national disgrace” who engaged in a “racist” movement.
A spokesperson for Colin Powell told ABC Tuesday night that the emails revealed “are accurate,” and declined any further comment.
Much of the content of these emails was first reported by the website Buzzfeed, and ABC News has not independently obtained the emails. Buzzfeed quotes Powell in one email from June 17, 2016, to Emily Miller, a journalist and former aide of Powell. Powell writes that Trump “is in the process of destroying himself, no need for Dems to attack him.”
In another email, Powell describes Trump’s birther investigation as a “racist” movement that incorrectly suggests Obama was born in a foreign country.
“Yup, the whole birther movement was racist,” Powell wrote. He also said Trump wanted to know if Obama was a Muslim. “As I have said before, ‘What if he was?’ Muslims are born as Americans everyday.”
In a separate email titled “racism,” Powell writes, “There is a level of intolerance in parts of the Republican Party.”
Buzzfeed reports that it obtained the emails from the website DCLeaks.com, a group that is suspected of having ties to Russian cyber spies. The private cyber security firm ThreatConnect has reported its suspicion that DCLeaks was a Russian-backed operation, linked to the notorious hacker Guccifer 2.0, who on Tuesday released more data stolen from the Democratic National Committee.
The conservative news outlet Daily Caller also reported Tuesday night that two years of Powell emails have been stolen, ranging from June 2014 to August 2016.
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