WikiLeaks releases emails said to be from Clinton campaign chair

Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who slammed Republican nominee Donald Trump on Friday after old video of him making vulgar remarks surfaced, was also hit by a leak on Friday.

WikiLeaks published what appeared to be excerpts of her paid speeches to corporations, the transcripts of which the campaign has refused to release. The transcripts included comments by Clinton on trade that could be troubling for her.

The disclosures come just a month before the Nov. 8 presidential election, and two days before the second televised debate between Clinton and Trump.

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The disclosures threaten Trump's already shaky standing with women and reinforce doubts among Democrats that Clinton will crack down on Wall Street.

WikiLeaks published what appeared to be speech excerpts that could give Trump new fodder for attacking Clinton, who in them voices support for open trade and borders and discusses taking different positions in public than in private.

The U.S. government on Friday formally accused Russia of hacking Democratic Party organizations ahead of the presidential election. WikiLeaks has declined to name its sources.

A spokesman for the Clinton campaign declined to confirm whether the WikiLeaks emails were authentic and noted that other hacked documents have been faked.

"Earlier today the U.S. government removed any reasonable doubt that the Kremlin has weaponized WikiLeaks to meddle in our election and benefit Donald Trump's candidacy," said Glen Caplin, the spokesman.

The emails were among hundreds of messages WikiLeaks published from the hacked account of John Podesta, Clinton's campaign chairman.

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Clinton has struggled with issues of trustworthiness after a lingering controversy over her use of a private email system while serving as secretary of state.

During her primary campaign against populist rival Bernie Sanders, she resisted calls to release transcripts of 92 paid speeches she gave to Goldman Sachs and other corporations for which she was paid more than $20 million.

In a 2013 speech to a trade group, she talked about the necessity of working with lobbyists, according to the hacked email.

"But if everybody's watching, you know, all of the backroom discussions and the deals, you know, then people get a little nervous, to say the least. So, you need both a public and a private position," she said, according to the leaked email.

"It is unsavoury, and it always has been that way, but we usually end up where we need to be," she said.

Ninety minutes after his statement condemning Trump's leaked remarks, the RNC'sReincePriebus issued another one slamming Clinton's leaked excerpts. "The truth that has been exposed here is that the persona Hillary Clinton has adopted for her campaign is a complete and utter fraud," Priebus said in the statement.