In a statement to NBC News on Saturday, a representative for the campaign of former president Donald Trump, Steven Cheung, said that the campaign had been compromised by an Iranian organization in June, “which coincides with the close timing of President Trump’s selection of a Vice Presidential nominee.”
Since Politico broke the story of the attack initially, NBC News has not independently confirmed when or where the hack occurred. According to Politico, it started getting emails in July from an unknown user that sent internal Trump campaign information.
Research papers on at least two of the candidates for Trump’s running mate, including Ohio Senator JD Vance, the eventual GOP vice presidential nominee, were included in the materials.
“These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States with the intention of causing chaos throughout our Democratic process and interfering with the 2024 election,” Cheung told NBC News.
In reference to a study published by Microsoft on Friday, Cheung stated that in June, a high-ranking person on a presidential campaign received a spear phishing email from a “Iranian group, this one connected with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.”
Microsoft did not disclose the targeted campaign. Beyond what was said in their report released on Friday, a Microsoft representative declined to provide any information regarding the incident.
The Iranians are aware that, as he did during his first four years in office, President Trump will put an end to their rule of terror. Reprinting papers or internal conversations by the media or news organizations is exactly what America’s foes desire, according to Cheung.
