GOP Sens. Grassley, Johnson press defense agency on alleged targeting of RNC, DNC

Grassley and Johnson demanded that Tompkins outline any work that Antonakakis may have done related to the DNC or RNC networks as well as explain any role DARPA may have had in the project.

By Ben Whedon

Published: August 11, 2023 3:17pm

Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley, Iowa, and Ron Johnson, Wis., are seeking answers from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on its collaboration with the Georgia Institute of Technology and possible effort to probe the networks of the Democratic and Republican National Committee (DNC and RNC) networks, seemingly without their knowledge.

Writing to DARPA Director Stefanie Tompkins, the lawmakers pointed to an email exchange between Dr. Manos Antonakakis of Georgia Tech and employees of the agency.

"Dr. Antonakakis appears to request DARPA sign off on the research to examine networks related to the RNC and DNC," they wrote. "Further, Dr. Antonakakis’ email appears to suggest that this examination was to be conducted without the prior knowledge of the RNC or DNC."

DARPA letter

Grassley and Johnson demanded that Tompkins outline any work that Antonakakis may have done related to the DNC or RNC networks as well as explain any role DARPA may have had in the project. They further demanded to know whether the RNC or DNC were made aware of his proposals.

The pair also asked for records related to the project and set a deadline of Aug. 23, 2023.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.