Iran Hacks the Trump Campaign

In the wake of a Pakistani man who was arrested in a “murder-for-hire” plot that included Donald Trump, the former president’s campaign said that it had been hacked by an Iranian group in June, “which coincides with the close timing of President Trump’s selection of a Vice Presidential nominee,” Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, told NBC News.

The hack was first reported by Politico, and CNN and other outlest have since verified that the hack took place and that the Iranians were involved. Politico said it began receiving emails from an anonymous account sharing internal documents from the Trump campaign in July.

The documents included research papers on at least two of the contenders to be Trump’s running mate, including the eventual GOP vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.

“These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process,” Cheung said.

Cheung pointed to a Microsoft report released Friday that said an “Iranian group, this one connected with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, sent a spear phishing email in June to a high-ranking official on a presidential campaign.”

“The Iranians know that President Trump will stop their reign of terror just like he did in his first four years in the White House. Any media or news outlet reprinting documents or internal communications are doing the bidding of America’s enemies and doing exactly what they want,” Cheung added.

The FBI said it was “aware of the media reporting” but declined to comment further.

A spokesperson for the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations said, “We do not accord any credence to such reports. The Iranian Government neither possesses nor harbors any intent or motive to interfere in the United States presidential election.”

Microsoft did not identify the campaign that was targeted. A spokesperson for Microsoft declined to share details about the incident beyond what was written in its Friday report. However, given the statements by Cheung it is safe to assume that Microsoft was referring to the Trump campaign.

The hack of the Trump campaign, the failed assassination attempt, and the murder-for-hire plot all happened very close to one another, and at least one of three – the hack – has been directly tied to Iran. It seems quite plausible that the radical Islamic enemy of the US had its hand in the other two – and decidedly more deadly – attacks on President Trump.