The campaign of former President Donald Trump said Saturday that it was the victim of hacking by “foreign sources hostile to the United States” and blamed the Iranian government.
The statement came after Politico reported receiving internal campaign dossiers about Sens. JD Vance and Marco Rubio, including a report about Vance’s “potential vulnerabilities,” from an anonymous email address.
According to a Microsoft report published on Aug. 8, Iranian hackers conducted a spear-phishing attack in June against a high-ranking official from a presidential campaign. The Trump campaign said the attack coincided with its selection process for the Republican vice-presidential nominee – a process that culminated in the selection of Vance.
A Microsoft spokesperson declined to disclose the names of the targeted officials or offer further details. Tehran, meanwhile, has denied involvement, saying “the Iranian government neither possesses nor harbors any intent or motive to interfere in the United States presidential election.” After the assassination attempt on Trump in July, Iran similarly denied claims that it had plotted to kill the former president.
The statement comes as the New York Times released a poll showing Harris leading Trump by four points in each of the battleground states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. We’ll be watching whether the campaign’s hacking woes draw attention away from the Democrats ahead of the first Harris-Trump debate in September.
