Dem senator requests info on Trump nominee hacking claims

A Democratic senator is searching for more information after President Trump’s appointee to run the Energy Department’s Office of Indian Energy claimed that he was the victim of hacks.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told CNN on Wednesday that he sent letters to the Department of Energy (DOE) and the FBI requesting more information on William Bradford’s claim that he was the victim of “cyber attacks” after a CNN report linked him to derogatory comments made on Disqus about former President Barack Obama.

Wyden asked the agencies on Wednesday to “please confirm to my office in writing whether you or any other individual in the General Counsel’s office has been made aware of any cyberattacks against Mr. Bradford, and if so, what steps your office has taken to ensure that these activities have not compromised his ability to perform the duties demanded by his office.”

Comments made from an account that appears to be Bradford’s referred to the former president as “the son of a fourth-rate porn actress and whore.” Other comments referenced the “birther” controversy, stating that Obama’s birth certificate was “obviously fake.”

{mosads}In a statement on Tuesday, Bradford denied that he made the comments and blamed “internet crimes” for the remarks appearing under his name.

“I cannot comment on an ongoing federal investigation into multiple cyber attacks and Internet crimes committed against me over the past several years, to include email intrusions, hacking, and impostors in social media,” he said.

In his letters to the FBI and DOE, Wyden said that the matter of possible identity theft of a federal employee must be resolved immediately.

“We must ensure a swift resolution to repeated cyber intrusions and identity theft that may have targeted an agency director at the U.S. Department of Energy,” Wyden said.

Prior to joining the agency, Bradford served as the attorney general of the Chiricahua Apache Nation and taught at the National Defense University and Coast Guard Academy.