A senior official from former President Donald Trump’s campaign claimed on Saturday that sensitive internal documents, including vetting reports for Trump’s vice presidential candidates, were stolen by “foreign sources hostile to the United States.” The campaign suggested that Iranian hackers were responsible, though no evidence was provided to support the claim.
According to POLITICO, an anonymous source has been sending leaked internal Trump campaign documents to the news outlet over the past several weeks. The source, using the alias “Robert” and an AOL email address, began sharing what appeared to be internal communications from a senior campaign official on July 22.
In response to inquiries from POLITICO, a Trump campaign spokesperson confirmed the breach and suggested Iranian involvement. “These documents were unlawfully obtained by foreign entities hostile to the United States, aiming to disrupt the 2024 election and undermine our democratic process,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung stated.
The spokesperson referenced a recent Microsoft report that discussed foreign interference – particularly of Iran – in the U.S. elections. “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 said in a report by The Hill.
Microsoft Report Highlights Iranian Cyber Efforts
Microsoft’s report detailed that several Iranian state-sponsored groups have escalated their efforts to influence U.S. elections. One group, identified as Mint Sandstorm and linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reportedly sent a spear-phishing email to a senior campaign official using a compromised account of a former senior adviser.
This group, also known as Charming Kitten, attempted but failed to access the account of a “former presidential candidate” on June 13, just before the phishing attack. The incident occurred weeks after the same group successfully breached the account of a local official in a swing state, though that breach might have been part of a broader, unrelated operation.
Microsoft warned that senior officials must adhere to cybersecurity best practices, even for legacy or archived systems, to prevent such incidents.
Political and Media Implications of the Trump Campaign Leak
POLITICO has not disclosed whether it will publish the leaked documents, which reportedly include a 271-page “research dossier” on GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance and part of a research document on U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who had been a leading contender for Trump’s VP pick.
The leak raises concerns about the media’s role in election influence campaigns orchestrated by foreign adversaries. Trump previously called on Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails during the 2016 election, leading to a series of events that culminated in a special counsel investigation into Russian election interference.
The Biden-Harris administration condemns any foreign government or entity attempting to interfere with U.S. elections or erode trust in democratic institutions, a National Security Council spokesperson told CBS News on Saturday. The spokesperson deferred the matter to the Justice Department for further investigation.
When POLITICO asked the anonymous source how the documents were obtained, “Robert” replied, “I suggest you don’t inquire about where I got them. Any answer to that question would compromise me and legally prevent you from publishing them.”