Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has claimed his campaign email account was hacked by Russians.
Sen. Lindsey Graham also told CNN that he believed “the Russians” hacked into the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and accused them of trying to “destabilize democracy all over the world”.
Russian officials have repeatedly denied hacking accusations.
Donald Trump rejected a CIA report that Russian hackers tried to sway the election in his favor.
Also this week, NBC News reported that US intelligence officials now believe with “a high level of confidence” that Russian President Vladimir Putin became personally involved in a covert Russian campaign to interfere in November’s presidential election.
The attack targeted emails of the Democratic Party and of Hillary Clinton’s aide, John Podesta. The contents, passed to WikiLeaks and posted online, were embarrassing to the Democrats and shook up the presidential campaign.
The NBC report, quoting two unnamed senior officials, says that new intelligence shows how the hacked material was leaked and used.
According to the NBC report, the operation began as a “vendetta” against Hillary Clinton before becoming “an effort to show corruption in American politics and split off key American allies”.
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Lindsey Graham, a member of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, said on CNN that “we were told by the FBI in August that we were hacked in June”.
He said: “I do believe the Russians hacked into the [DNC]. I do believe they hacked into [John] Podesta’s email account. They hacked into my campaign account.”
Lindsey Graham also said that he believed that “all the information released publicly hurt Clinton and didn’t hurt Trump.”
However, he stressed that the outcome of the election was not in doubt.
“I think Hillary Clinton lost because she wasn’t an agent of change and she tried to disqualify Trump and she wasn’t able to do it.”
He added that this was not “a Republican or Democratic issue” and must be tackled on a bipartisan basis.
Lindsey Graham accused Russia of attempting to destabilize democracy: “We should tell the Russians that on no uncertain terms, you interfere in our elections, we don’t care why, we’re going to hit you and hit you hard, we’re going to introduce sanctions.”
Susan Rice, who is hotly tipped to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has admitted releasing incorrect information after September’s attack on the American consulate in Libya.
UN Ambassador Susan Rice said there had been no attempt to mislead the public, but Republicans were unconvinced.
After meeting Susan Rice on Tuesday, senators said they were troubled.
The envoy said her initial line that the Benghazi attack appeared to have sprung from a protest had been wrong.
The September 11 assault on the US consulate triggered a major political row over who knew what and when.
Days afterwards, Susan Rice, 48, said in a series of TV interviews that it seemed to have developed out of protests over an anti-Islamic film.
Later intelligence reports suggested it was possibly tied to al-Qaeda affiliates.
On Tuesday, Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte met privately with Ms Rice and acting CIA Director Michael Morell to discuss the attack.
Susan Rice has admitted releasing incorrect information after September’s attack on the American consulate in Libya
After the meeting on Capitol Hill, Susan Rice said: “The talking points provided by the intelligence community, and the initial assessment upon which they were based, were incorrect in a key respect: there was no protest or demonstration in Benghazi.
“While we certainly wish that we had had perfect information just days after the terrorist attack, as is often the case the intelligence assessment has evolved.”
But the Republicans said questions remained unanswered.
Senator John McCain said: “We are significantly troubled by many of the answers that we got and some that we didn’t get concerning evidence that was leading up to the attack.”
Senator Lindsey Graham said that he was “more disturbed now than I was before”, adding that he would “absolutely” attempt to block any nomination of Ms Rice for secretary of state.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Tuesday there were “no unanswered questions” about Susan Rice’s response to the Benghazi incident, accusing Republicans of being obsessed with it.
Republicans are demanding a joint committee investigate the attack, which left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
Current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is not expected to continue in the role for a second four-year term. The Obama administration would need the support of the Senate for any nomination to the post.
After winning re-election, President Barack Obama vigorously defended Susan Rice, calling Republican criticism of her “outrageous”.
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