TOUGH TALK
Iran hits back at claims it ‘hacked’ Donald Trump’s election campaign after ex-president’s team slammed ‘hostile’ forces
The hack included information on JD Vance's vetting file
IRAN has denied the allegations that they attempted to hack Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
The Iranian government released the statement on X.
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"Urgent: representation at the United Nations," the read.
"We deny allegations regarding hacking of the election campaign of presidential candidate Donald Trump."
Moments after the denial, Trump issued his own statement.
"We were just informed by Microsoft Corporation that one of our many websites was hacked by the Iranian Government - Never a nice thing to do," Trump on his Truth social media platform.
"They were only able to get publicly available information but, nevertheless, they shouldn’t be doing anything of this nature."
"Iran and others will stop at nothing, because our Government is Weak and Ineffective, but it won’t be for long," Trump continued.
"What Iran doesn’t realize is that I will make the World a better and safer place, and that’s good for them, also!"
The denial from Iran comes after Trump's campaign reportedly blamed "foreign sources hostile to the United States" for the hack.
Most read in The US Sun
The hackers attempted to sow chaos in the presidential election by leaking documents to the press.
first reported the hack after receiving emails from an anonymous account that included documents from Trump's campaign.
The campaign claimed that Iranian hackers "sent a spear phishing email in June to a high-ranking official on a presidential campaign."
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump's campaign told Politico that the documents were "obtained illegally from foreign sources" and "intended to interfere" with the 2024 election.
It comes as...
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"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 President Trump’s selection of a vice presidential nominee," Cheung added.
The documents leaked to Politico were deemed authentic by two sources familiar with the matter.
One of the documents reportedly included Trump's running mate, JD Vance's vetting file.
The 271-page file included information on Vance's records, as well as public criticisms of Trump.
The file was identified as "Potential Vulnerabilities."
The documents also included information on Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who was on the shortlist for Trump's running mates.
The hacker claimed they had a "variety of documents from [Trump's] legal and court documents to internal campaign discussions."
"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 hacker said, according to Politico.
"The Iranians know that President Trump will stop their reign of terror just like he did in his first four years in the White House," Cheung said.
Iranian leader Qasem Soleimani was killed in 2020 during a US airstrike ordered by Trump's administration.
Soleimani died at the Baghdad International Airport.
He led Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, a unit that was once deemed a foreign terrorist organization by the US.
HACKERS OF DAYS PAST
The hacker's plot comes after a similar incident in the 2016 presidential election.
Top officials in the Democratic Party were targeted and their emails leaked to the public ahead of the election.
The emails included private information on the inner workings of Hillary Clinton's campaign.
Many of the emails were published by WikiLeaks and tainted Clinton's White House bid.
National security officials later accused Russia of the hack.
The incident gained national attention and later led to the sensational 2017 investigation by the Justice Department.
Special counsel Robert Mueller was assigned to the case and found no evidence connecting the Trump campaign to the Russian hackers.
Donald Trump Rally Security
Donald Trump was reportedly shot at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, July 13.
Trump's rally was held at the Butler Farm Grounds, which can hold tens of thousands of people.
There were 8-10 metal detectors at the grounds, according to Former USUN Ambassador Kip Tom.
Tom told CNN that anyone within a certain distance of the president was required to enter through those metal detectors.
Despite being held at an open fairground, the rally was fenced-in, meaning a perimeter was set up.
Counter snipers from the Secret Service were stationed in the area to monitor the perimeter.
In addition to metal detectors for the public, plus local and state police, the Secret Service is assigned to protect the president.
Secret Service agents immediately jumped to cover Trump after he appeared to be shot.
"We have practiced for these situations thousands of times," Jonathan Wackrow, former agent, told CNN.
CNN also reported that the Secret Service shot and killed the reported shooter.
The FBI assumed the larger investigation of the shooting, working in tandem with the Secret Service.
IRANIAN INTERFERENCE
reported in April that they were tracking information pointing to Iran's intent to influence the election.
The report cited an Iranian group that launched fake news sites to target US voter groups.
"The evidence we found suggests the sites are using AI-enabled services to plagiarize at least some of their content from US publications," the report read.
Nio Thinker, one of the fake news sites created by the Iranian group, was intended to target liberal audiences by insulting Trump.
Savannah Time, another fake news site, claimed to be a "trusted source for conservative news in the vibrant city of Savannah."
The report cited another potential Iranian group attempting to "incite chaos, undermining authorities, and sowing doubt about election integrity."
Microsoft warned this group had violent motivations including "intimidation or inciting violence against political figures or groups."
A third Iranian group reportedly had connections with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
A member of this group sent a phishing email in June to a high-ranking official on a presidential campaign through a senior advisor's compromised account.
The group also unsuccessfully attempted to log into an account belonging to a former presidential candidate.
Microsoft didn't name the candidate targeted but added that they've been notified of the compromised account.
A fourth Iranian group reportedly hacked an email account of a local government official in a swing state.
Microsoft Intelligence wasn't able to determine the group's overall intentions for the hack.
Cheung didn't elaborate on whether the campaign has been in contact with Microsoft or law enforcement.
What to know about the hack on Trump's campaign
News dropped on August 10 that Donald Trump's campaign was compromised. Here's all you need to know about the hack,
- Documents from the Trump campaign leaked to Politico reportedly by a hack from foreign officials.
- The news comes after Microsoft released a report in April citing four Iranian groups attempting to influence the US elections.
- The Trump campaign said Iran was targeting the former president due to his policies against the country.
- Iranian leader Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike ordered by the Trump campaign in 2020 and national officials have said the former president then became a target.
- Documents compromised in the hack reportedly included vetting files for Trump's running mate JD Vance and finalist Senator Marco Rubio.
- This isn't the first time the Justice Department has investigated foreign interference in US elections, following a hack into Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016.
- Trump was also reportedly the target of an Iranian assassination plot in July.
ASSASSINATION PLOT
Weeks before the attempted assassination of Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the Secret Service was alerted to an Iranian plot to kill the former president.
The threat resulted in increased security at Trump's campaign events, reported at the time.
Despite the security concerns, assailant Thomas Matthew Crooks, was still able to gain access to a nearby rooftop.
His bullet grazed Trump's ear and killed one attendee.
National security officials didn't find any connection between Crooks and Iran.
“As we have said many times, we have been tracking Iranian threats against former Trump administration officials for years, dating back to the last administration,” said National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.
“These threats arise from Iran’s desire to seek revenge for the killing of Qassem Soleimani.
"We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority.
“At this time, law enforcement has reported that their investigation has not identified ties between the shooter and any accomplice or co-conspirator, foreign or domestic."
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Trump campaign.
The FBI confirmed that they were actively investigating the matter but declined to provide further information.
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