It appears that Iran has once again attacked Donald Trump’s chance at winning a second stint in the White House. This time, the Islamic Republic hacked computer files and revealed sensitive documents about the vetting of J.D. Vance as the former president contemplated potential running mates.
Politico, the news outlet that received the documents, reported that it received the documents from an anonymous email and that the campaign was aware of the hack.
The campaign blamed “foreign sources hostile to the United States,” citing a Microsoft report on Friday that Iranian hackers “sent a spear phishing email in June to a high-ranking official on a presidential campaign.” Microsoft did not identify the campaign targeted by the email and declined to comment Saturday. POLITICO has not independently verified the identity of the hacker or their motivation, and a Trump campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung, declined to say if they had further information substantiating the campaigns’ suggestion that it was targeted by Iran.
“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. “On Friday, a new report from Microsoft found that Iranian hackers broke into the account of a ‘high ranking official’ on the U.S. presidential campaign in June 2024, which coincides with the close timing of President Trump’s selection of a vice presidential nominee.”
On July 22, POLITICO began receiving emails from an anonymous account. Over the course of the past few weeks, the person — who used an AOL email account and identified themselves only as “Robert” — relayed what appeared to be internal communications from a senior 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 documents are authentic, according to two people familiar with them and granted anonymity to describe internal communications. One of the people described the dossier as a preliminary version of Vance’s vetting file.
Asked how they obtained the documents, the person responded: “I suggest you don’t be curious about where I got them from. Any answer to this question, will compromise me and also legally restricts you from publishing them.”
The stolen dossier included a 271-page document compiled from publicly available information on Vance’s past actions and statements. It highlighted certain aspects, like his previous criticisms of Trump, as “POTENTIAL VULNERABILITIES,” Politico explained.
The mystery informant also shared a portion of a research document involving Florida Senator Marco Rubio, another finalist for the vice presidential nomination.
Intelligence agencies reported that Iran is desperate to see Kamala Harris back in the White House instead of Trump. The pro-terror nation has allegedly made attempts to assassinate the former president.
New Conservative Post explained that it’s not a mystery as to why Iran favors Harris over the Republican.
“Under Trump’s administration, Iran faced immense pressure. The U.S. adopted a hardline stance characterized by severe economic sanctions and direct military actions. One of the most dramatic moments came with the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian military commander. This bold move demonstrated Trump’s willingness to take decisive action and sent a clear message to Iran: aggression against American interests would not be tolerated.
The ‘maximum pressure’ campaign spearheaded by Trump aimed to cripple Iran’s economy. Vital sectors, including oil exports, were targeted, significantly impacting the Iranian economy. This strategy was designed to force Iran to negotiate on critical issues such as their nuclear program and regional activities.
In contrast, the Biden administration has taken a more diplomatic approach toward Iran. This shift has led to the easing of tensions but has also raised concerns about the effectiveness of such a strategy. Under Biden, Iran has seen billions of dollars in assets unfrozen, and the U.S. has adopted a more lenient stance in defending Israel. Critics argue that this approach has emboldened Iran, allowing it to increase its influence and activities in the region.”
Like President Biden, a close advisor to Kamala Harris was recently placed under investigation due to his connections to Iran.
