Iranian hackers breached former President Donald Trump’s campaign and shared the stolen materials with the Biden-Harris campaign, federal officials confirmed in a joint statement.
Officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) revealed that Iranian operatives transmitted the hacked information to Biden-Harris campaign officials in June and July.
According to the statement, the stolen content included non-public materials from Trump’s campaign, which were shared via email.
“This is more evidence that Iran is actively meddling in the election to benefit Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, knowing that President Trump would reimpose tough sanctions and stand against their regime,” said Karoline Leavitt, National Press Secretary for Trump’s campaign.
She added that Harris and Biden must clarify whether they used the hacked information, questioning what they knew and when.
Although President Joe Biden suspended his campaign in mid-July after being defeated by Trump in the debates, many of his campaign team members were retained by Kamala Harris, who took over the campaign.
Despite this, federal authorities noted that there is “no current information indicating” that Biden-Harris officials responded to the emails. The statement from federal officials emphasized that Iran’s aim was to “sow discord and undermine confidence in our electoral process.”
However, this contrasts with other statements suggesting Iran’s actions were primarily aimed at thwarting Trump’s campaign.
The Harris campaign, distancing itself from Biden’s, claimed they were also targeted by this foreign influence effort.
National security experts have repeatedly warned of Iran’s attempts to sabotage Trump’s campaign, its distribution of hacked information to the media, and even its alleged efforts to assassinate Trump.
The revelation that Iranian hackers breached Trump’s campaign and shared the stolen information with the Biden-Harris team has intensified concerns about foreign interference in U.S. elections.
While federal officials assert that the primary goal of Iran’s actions was to undermine trust in the electoral process, the targeting of Trump’s campaign has led to broader speculation about the intent behind these cyberattacks.
The Trump campaign has called for further clarification from Harris and Biden regarding their potential knowledge or use of the stolen data.
As national security officials continue to investigate Iran’s broader efforts to disrupt the election and potentially harm Trump’s campaign, the situation raises ongoing questions about foreign influence and the vulnerability of political campaigns to cyber threats.
