The Trump campaign believes its email systems were hacked by Iran, resulting in intelligence experts warning of potential future election disruptions, The Washington Post reported.
The announcement came on Aug. 10 after campaign officials said they received questions from news organizations regarding an internal vetting document on vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance that was sent to media outlets. The 271-page document, labeled “privileged & confidential,” came from an anonymous AOL user by the name of “Robert.” News outlet Politic was the first to say it had been receiving documents, including a vetting document on Vance, from a sender with the same name since Jul. 22.
On Aug. 9, Trump’s campaign pointed to a report released by Microsoft as the tech company opened up about discovering evidence that Iranian hackers attempted to break into the email account of a “high-ranking official” on the U.S. presidential campaign trail in June 2024, corresponding with the time Vance was selected as Trump’s running mate.
According to CNN, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung released a statement regarding the report and said the Iranians plotted “to assassinate President Trump around the same time as the Butler, PA tragedy.” “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,” Cheung wrote.
“Any media or news outlet reprinting documents or internal communications are doing the bidding of America’s enemies and doing exactly what they want.”
It is unclear if Iranians are the cause
of the hack attempt, however, the security breach has heightened analysts and intelligence experts to sound the alarm on other potential efforts to disrupt the U.S. presidential election from foreign powers.Former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Chris Kreb, made a cryptic post on X, saying, “Buckle up” and reminisced on Russia interfering with the 2016 presidential election. “Someone is running the 2016 playbook, expect continued efforts to stoke fires in society and go after election systems – 95% votes on paper ballots is a strong resilience measure, combined with audits. But the chaos is the point….,” Kreb said.
Trump once publicly encouraged Russia to hack into former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s private server and release her emails during the 2016 election season
. He later claimed to have been joking.Democratic House members, including Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), have called for briefings and for information related to the possible foreign election interference to be declassified. As a top serving Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee’s cybersecurity subcommittee, Swalwell called for a briefing from the Department of Homeland Security, on X. He said while Trump is “the most despicable person ever to seek office,” that doesn’t give America an excuse to tolerate election interference.
“I am seeking a @DHSgov briefing on the alleged hack of Trump’s presidential campaign. Yes, Trump is the most despicable person ever to seek office,” Swalwell wrote.
“He also sought foreign hacking in a past election. But that doesn’t mean America ever tolerates foreign interference.”
Once made aware of the breach, a spokesperson from the U.S National Security Council issued a statement condemning election disruptions. “As we have said many times, the Biden-Harris Administration strongly condemns any foreign government or entity who attempts to interfere in our electoral process or seeks to undermine confidence in our democratic institutions,” the spokesperson said.
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