Former President Donald Trump’s campaign said on Saturday that it had been hacked, blaming “foreign sources to the United States,” per a report from Politico. The campaign cited a Microsoft report from Friday that Iranian hackers “sent a spear phishing email in June to a high-ranking official on a presidential campaign.”
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment. A spokesperson for Microsoft declined to comment, citing what’s available in the aforementioned company’s report and accompanying blog. According to Politico’s report, it has not independently verified the identity of the hacker or the motivation.
“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. “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 [former] President Trump’s selection of a vice presidential nominee.” Cheung declined to confirm with the outlet whether the campaign had communicated with Microsoft or law enforcement regarding the breach.
The campaign acknowledged on Saturday that it had been hacked following Politico’s reporting that it had been receiving emails from an anonymous account containing documents from Trump’s campaign beginning on July 22. A person named “Robert” shared what seemed to be internal communications from a senior Trump campaign person, including research on Trump’s VP running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, from Feb. 23. One source told Politico the dossier was an early document pertaining to vetting Vance.
The 271-page document included information of Vance’s prior statements and record, which also comprised his criticisms of Trump that were marked as “potential vulnerabilities,” per the publication’s report. Per Politico, the same person also sent partial research on Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), one of the candidates in consideration as a nominee for Trump’s VP running mate at the time.
“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 person known as “Robert” allegedly behind the hack told Politico when asked how the information was procured.
It is unclear how much information the alleged hacker has obtained.
