The Department of Defense reportedly asked a Georgia Tech researcher to investigate the "origins" of the 2016 cyberattack on the Democratic National Committee, according to an email obtained by The Federalist.
Georgia Tech associate professor Manos Antonakakis, who was previously identified as "Researcher-1" in court filings related to special counsel John Durham’s investigation, wrote an email about one week after he testified before a grand jury in Washington, D.C., to the general counsel and other upper management figures at the university.
In the email, Antonakakis reportedly says, "I was asked point-blank by [assistant special prosecutor Andrew] DeFilippis, 'Do you believe that DARPA [Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency] should be instructing you to investigate the origins of a hacker [Guccifer_2.0] that hacked a political entity [DNC]?' "
He said that he answered the question by saying it was "a question for DARPA's director."
He added in the email, "Someone hacked a political party [DNC, in this case], in the middle of an election year [2016], and the lead investigator of [the Department of Justice’s] special counsel would question whether U.S. researchers working for DARPA should conduct investigations in this matter is 'acceptable'!"
Antonakakis went on to say, "Please, try to imagine a 'United States of America' where investigations and prosecutions are determined by ideas and political believes [sic]."
He also said that his research is needed "to preserve our democracy," and wrote, "For a single yet fundamental reason: data-driven scientific attribution is unbiased politically. Data belongs to no political party."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.