Washington: Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has accused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of colluding with a Russian intelligence operation to disrupt the 2016 US election and damage her candidacy for President.
In an interview with Australia's ABC Four Corner show aired on Monday, Clinton called Assange a "tool of Russian intelligence".
"Assange has become a kind of nihilistic opportunist who does the bidding of a dictator... WikiLeaks is unfortunately now practically a fully owned subsidiary of Russian intelligence," she said.
Assange, who has been living inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012, hit back at Clinton, tweeting that she was "not a credible person".
Tweeting a link to the Four Corners interview, Assange said there was "something wrong" with Clinton.
"It is not just her constant lying... Something much darker rides along with it. A cold creepiness rarely seen," he said.
Clinton said the operation against her was directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I think that their intention, coming from the very top with Putin, was to hurt me and to help (US President Donald) Trump," she said. In January, the US intelligence community concluded Putin ordered the influence campaign to discredit Clinton and had a "clear preference" for her opponent, the report said.