BREAKING: Marco Rubio's 2016 Presidential Campaign Possibly Targeted By Russian Players

Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. listens on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 28, 2016, as Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk, the U.S. representative to the anti-Islamic State coalition, testified before the committee. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)

Smoke. Smoke. Smokety-smoke, folks.

And I’m sure this is pure coincidence.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio was one of the final four standing from a vastly overcrowded field of contenders for the Republican nomination in the 2016 election.

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After losing the primary in his home state, Senator Rubio chose to step aside.

According to a report from Time.com today, in regards to the Senate hearing on Russian interference into the 2016 election, his campaign team was likely targeted by Russian players, as well.

Rubio said that former members of his presidential campaign team with access to internal documents from his presidential campaign were targeted in July of 2016, after he had announced he would seek reelection for the Senate, and again this past Wednesday by IP addresses from an undisclosed location in Russia. Both efforts were unsuccessful, he said.

Rubio, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, disclosed this information after Clint Watts, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said during his testimony that Russia may have tried to undermine the Senator’s presidential campaign.

“Russia’s overt media outlets sought to sideline opponents on both sides of the political spectrum,” Watts said at the hearing. “Senator Rubio, in my opinion, you suffered through these efforts.”

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Rubio is decidedly NOT a fan of Russian President Vladimir Putin. During Senate confirmation hearings for Trump’s Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, the senator referred to Putin as a “war criminal.”

Back in October 2016, Rubio also objected to WikiLeaks’ involvement in the 2016 election.

 “We cannot be a country where foreign intelligence agencies influence our political process,” he said at the time. “What I would say to my Republican colleagues, some of whom might be disappointed: today its them. Tomorrow it could be us.”

WikiLeaks has been accused of being an arm for the Kremlin, though their founder, Julian Assange, denies any connection.

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