Iran Faces U.S. Charges Over Cyberattack on Donald Trump’s Presidential Campaign
The U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to bring criminal charges against Iran in connection with a cyberattack on Donald Trump’s campaign headquarters, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke to NBC News.
In August, Trump’s campaign announced that it had fallen victim to a hacking attack, and later federal authorities attributed the breach to Iran. The hackers’ apparent objective was to orchestrate an operation involving the theft and release of data to disseminate stolen campaign files.
At the center of the FBI’s investigation is an online figure known as “Robert.” He had been in contact with American journalists, passing along documents purportedly obtained from Trump’s campaign staff. However, the information failed to gain widespread traction.
The investigation revealed that “Robert” was acting on behalf of the Iranian government, offering stolen files containing data from the email accounts of Trump’s advisors. Journalists from Politico and The Washington Post were among the recipients of these materials. It is expected that criminal charges could be filed in the coming days. Representatives of the Department of Justice and the FBI have refrained from commenting.
Among the victims of the attack was Trump advisor Susie Wiles, who holds a key position in his 2024 campaign. The hackers also managed to access information from other Trump advisors, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Iran’s press office at the United Nations has yet to comment on the allegations, though they previously denied Iran’s involvement in the attack. The specifics of the forthcoming charges and the names of the individuals who will be implicated remain undisclosed.
Earlier, U.S. officials stated that American intelligence was confident Iran sought to undermine Trump’s campaign. Experts have repeatedly warned that the IRGC is conducting sophisticated and persistent phishing campaigns to gather intelligence in Tehran’s interest. Earlier this year, Microsoft and Google reported attempts by Iranian hackers to breach the campaign headquarters of both Trump and Joe Biden, even before Biden dropped out of the race.
It is worth recalling that just before the 2020 presidential election, U.S. authorities accused Iran of attempting to interfere in the election by sending emails purportedly from the far-right organization Proud Boys, which supports Trump, to Democrats in Florida. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice charged two Iranians for their involvement in this operation.
