(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Islamic Republic of Iran has reportedly hacked internal documents from President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and leaked them to Politico.
Among the leaked documents are files related to the vetting process of Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and details about his past opposition to the former president.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung confirmed the leak and explicitly blamed Iran for the breach. This hacking comes less than a year after the Biden-Harris administration granted Iran access to $16 billion in previously frozen assets.
“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 told Politico.
Cheung cited a Microsoft report indicating that Iranian hackers accessed the account of a “high-ranking official” in a presidential campaign in June 2024. He noted that this timing coincided with Trump’s selection of a vice-presidential nominee.
According to Politico, in July, an individual named “Robert” began sending emails that appeared to be documents from an unnamed Trump campaign official.
“A research dossier the campaign had apparently done on Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, which was dated Feb. 23, was included in the documents,” the outlet reported.
“The documents are authentic, according to two people familiar with them and granted anonymity to describe internal communications,” the outlet added.
Research documents are typical in presidential campaigns, often including information on potential employees, opponents and members of the opposing party. For disclosure, this article’s author worked on the research team for Trump’s 2020 campaign.
As reported by Politico, the Vance file spans over 270 pages. Another hacked file contained documents related to Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who was also considered a potential running mate for Trump.
Cheung said Iranian hackers targeted the Trump campaign because they “know that President Trump will stop their reign of terror just like he did in his first four years in the White House.”
Iran is currently making headlines due to its ongoing proxy war with Israel.
