WASHINGTON — Iranian hackers sent unsolicited information stolen from former President Donald Trump’s campaign to officials of President Joe Biden’s election, but the offer was ignored, the FBI and other federal agencies said Wednesday.
The announcement is the latest in a series of moves by federal cybersecurity officials warning of Iranian efforts to interfere in the upcoming election, including taking specific steps to release information about the Trump campaign.
This includes hacking and leaking spear-phishing attacks targeting the Trump campaign in retaliation for actions he took against the Tehran regime during his time in office, including the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani.
The public warning from the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence came as “the FBI has received additional details about Iranian efforts to sow discord and influence the outcome of U.S. elections,” the agencies said in a joint statement.
“In late June and early July, Iranian malicious cyber actors sent unsolicited emails to individuals then associated with President Biden’s campaign. The email content contained excerpts of non-public materials stolen from former President Trump’s campaign,” the agency said in a statement, first reported by The Associated Press. “At this time, we have no information to indicate that the recipients have responded. Additionally, Iranian malicious cyber actors have continued efforts since June to send stolen non-public materials related to former President Trump’s campaign to U.S. media organizations.”
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The Department of Justice is preparing to bring charges against the violations, according to the Associated Press.
More: Russia steps up election interference to help Trump beat Harris, intelligence officials say
Federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies also say Iran, Russia, and, to a lesser extent, China are targeting the 2024 presidential election with the aim of undermining voter confidence in the election and sowing discord.
Mr Biden dropped out of the race in July, paving the way for Vice President Kamala Harris to run for the Democratic nomination, and Ms Harris is running neck and neck with Mr Trump in the latest polls.
Condemnation of foreign interference in elections
Morgan Finkelstein, a spokesman for Harris’ campaign and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, said the campaign “has been working with appropriate law enforcement authorities since learning that individuals associated with the then-Biden campaign were targeted in this foreign power operation.”
“We are not aware of any materials sent directly to the campaign, but several individuals were targeted with emails that appear to be spam and phishing attempts,” Finkelstein told USA Today. “We strongly condemn any attempts by a foreign power to interfere in a U.S. election, including this unwelcome, unacceptable and malicious activity.”
Trump campaign national spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt said the federal announcement was “further evidence that Iran is actively interfering in our election to help Kamala Harris and Joe Biden because they know President Trump will reinstate tough sanctions and resist Iran’s reign of terror.” Leavitt told USA Today, “Kamala and Biden must reveal whether they used hacking materials provided to them by Iran to harm President Trump. What did they know and when did they know?”
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, questioned what people associated with the Biden-Harris campaign did with the information.
“Iran hacked the Trump campaign and sent information to President Biden and Vice President Harris,” Turner said in a statement. “What have they done with the Iranian espionage? Have they contacted law enforcement? Is the Biden-Harris Administration colluding with Iran?”
“Russia, if you’re listening.”
The committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, disputed that claim, noting that the agencies’ joint statement “makes clear that there is no evidence that anyone affiliated with the Biden campaign responded to online actors dangling illegally obtained emails that we now know to be Iranian cutouts.”
“Thankfully, Kamala Harris and Joe Biden understand that foreign interference in our elections is unacceptable, regardless of who it benefits or hurts,” Himes said in a statement. “It’s worth remembering that Donald Trump famously asked Russia to hack his opponent, and that senior members of his campaign met diligently with Russians to obtain the hacked documents. He and anyone who justifies his actions should stay out of this.”
Trump said he would “love to see” the former secretary of state’s private emails, echoing his request for Russia to hack Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival in the 2016 presidential election. He welcomed such a scenario after WikiLeaks released emails from Clinton’s campaign and Democratic National Committee officials that were hacked by Russia.
“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you can find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” Trump told reporters at a news conference near Miami at the time. “The Russian press will probably be very reciprocated.”
U.S. intelligence agencies later concluded that Russia was actively trying to hack the election in a variety of ways to help Trump win and undermine Clinton’s campaign. U.S. intelligence officials have said in recent months that Russia has continued its cyber interference, this time to help Trump defeat Biden, and now Harris, in the 2024 election.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Russian efforts in 2016 paved the way for Iran and other countries to interfere in U.S. elections.
“Now that Russia’s 2016 operation has been made public, it is only natural that other malign actors will seek to follow suit,” Warner said. “Our adversaries understand the opportunity to exploit the speed and intensity of political campaigns by providing hacked or misappropriated materials for their own nefarious purposes.”
Warner noted that the committee’s thorough, bipartisan report on Russian interference included a recommendation that all campaigns should reject the use of foreign original materials.
“With less than 50 days until Election Day, I continue to urge all Americans to be vigilant and vigilant against efforts by foreign adversaries to influence their vote,” Warner said.
Hacking of campaign communications and internal documents
Last month, U.S. intelligence agencies said they had confirmed Iran was behind hacking efforts against the Trump and Biden-Harris campaigns, after the Trump campaign said some of its internal documents and communications had been hacked and leaked to media outlets.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations has denied any involvement in the hacking operations described by U.S. government agencies. “We do not believe any such reports,” the mission told The Associated Press. “The Iranian government does not have and harbors no intention or motive to interfere in the U.S. presidential elections.”
Politico, The Washington Post and The New York Times all reported receiving the information, but have not indicated they have made public any information they gained from it.
The Harris campaign also claimed it was the target of a “spear phishing” attack aimed at breaching its firewalls, The Washington Post reported.
And last month, U.S. intelligence officials said Russia was stepping up election interference as Election Day approached, working specifically to help Trump defeat Harris and also trying to influence lower-level elections.
Contributors: Michael Collins, David Jackson