Former President Donald Trump’s campaign said Saturday that it was hacked by an Iranian group in June, “which coincides with President Trump’s upcoming selection of a vice presidential candidate,” said Steven Cheung, a spokesman. from the Trump campaign, to NBC. News.
The hack was first reported by Politico and NBC News has not independently verified whether the hack occurred or where it originated. Politico said it began receiving emails from an anonymous account sharing internal Trump campaign documents in July.
The documents included research papers on at least two of Trump’s potential running mates, including the eventual Republican vice-presidential nominee: Ohio Senator JD Vance.
“These documents were illegally obtained from foreign sources hostile to the United States, with the intention of interfering in the 2024 elections and sowing chaos throughout our Democratic process,” Cheung told NBC News.
Cheung pointed to a Microsoft report released Fridaywhich said that an “Iranian group, this one linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, sent a spear phishing email in June to a high-ranking official in a presidential campaign.”
Microsoft did not identify the targeted campaign. A Microsoft spokesperson declined to share details about the incident beyond what was written in Friday’s report.
“Iranians know that President Trump will end his reign of terror, just as he did in his first four years in the White House. Any media outlet or media outlet that reprints internal documents or communications is doing the bidding of America’s enemies and doing exactly what they want,” Cheung added.
The FBI said it was “aware of the media reports” but declined to comment further.
A representative of Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In its story, Politico wrote that the news organization asked the anonymous sender about where they got the leaked documents and received a response that said, “I suggest you don’t get curious about where I got them from. Any answers to this question will bind me and also legally restrict you from publishing them.”
Politico representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
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