Iran Hacked Trump Data, Sent It to Biden Campaign: Here’s What We Know

(Left) Former President Donald Trump in New York on March 25, 2024. (Right) President Joe Biden in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 26, 2024. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images

The FBI on Wednesday confirmed that Iran-backed hackers targeted former President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and tried to deliver that information to President Joe Biden’s campaign earlier this year.

The incident occurred over the summer, the FBI, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in a statement.

Timeline

Iranian hackers in late June and early July sent what the agencies described as “unsolicited emails” to people associated with the Biden campaign. This came weeks before Biden announced in a statement that he was suspending his reelection bid before backing Vice President Kamala Harris, his then-running mate. The emails contained non-public information that was stolen from the Trump campaign.

The FBI and the other agencies said that Iran has tried to send the stolen Trump data since June to media organizations.

In August, the agencies said that Iran had launched a multifaceted approach to influence the U.S. election and sow discord among the American electorate.

“Foreign actors are increasing their election influence activities as we approach” the November election, the Wednesday joint statement said, adding that China and Russia are also trying to “exacerbate divisions in U.S. society for their own benefit.”

Also in August, software giant Microsoft said that Iran-backed hackers were targeting a high-ranking official of a U.S. presidential campaign using a phishing attack. Microsoft did not name which presidential campaign was targeted.

Google’s researchers said that same month that Iranian-sponsored hackers targeted the Biden and Trump campaigns in phishing attacks.

Since January 2020, the Iranian regime has issued threatening statements against the then-Trump administration following its order of the drone strike that killed Iranian official Qassem Soleimani.

Biden Campaign Wasn’t Interested, US Says

The FBI, CISA, and the ODNI said the Biden campaign wasn’t interested in the hacked Trump materials.

There is no evidence that any Biden campaign officials responded, according to their joint statement.

Harris Campaign Responds

Morgan Finkelstein, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, said in a statement that the campaign is cooperating with law enforcement agencies.

The campaign has “cooperated with the appropriate law enforcement authorities since we were made aware that individuals associated with the then-Biden campaign were among the intended victims of this foreign influence operation,” Finkelstein said.

“We’re not aware of any material being sent directly to the campaign; a few individuals were targeted on their personal emails with what looked like a spam or phishing attempt,” the statement reads.

“We condemn in the strongest terms any effort by foreign actors to interfere in U.S. elections including this unwelcome and unacceptable malicious activity.”

Trump Responds

On Wednesday evening, Trump responded to the agencies’ statement in a Truth Social post, claiming that Iran tried to give “all of the information to the Kamala Harris campaign.”

The former president linked the report to media-driven allegations that were made during and after the 2016 campaign that Russia sought to interfere with that year’s presidential election.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said that the Harris campaign is receiving “illegal campaign help” from Iran, although that alleged detail wasn’t included in the FBI, CISA, and ODNI statement.

The Trump campaign disclosed on Aug. 10 that it had been hacked and said Iranian actors had stolen and distributed sensitive internal documents. At least three news outlets—Politico, The New York Times, and The Washington Post—were leaked confidential material from inside the Trump campaign. So far, the outlets have not released details about what they received.

Iran’s Response

Last month, Iran’s mission to the United Nations denied the allegations as “unsubstantiated and devoid of any standing,” saying that the regime had neither the motive nor intention to interfere with the election.

It challenged the United States to provide evidence and said if the United States does so, it “will respond accordingly.”

“We do not accord any credence to such reports,” Iran’s U.N. mission said in August. “The Iranian government neither possesses nor harbors any intent or motive to interfere in the United States presidential election.”

Other Warnings

U.S. officials have warned of persistent and mounting efforts from China, Russia, and Iran to influence the U.S. election through their online activity. Beyond these hacking incidents, groups linked to the countries have used fake news websites and social media accounts to churn out content that appears intended to sway voters’ opinions.

A federal appeals court judge has warned other members of the U.S. federal judiciary to guard against possible cyberattacks by foreign adversaries who may interfere in election-related cases.

“Now is a time when everyone in the judiciary needs to stay alert and be extra smart and vigilant in all aspects of our use and monitoring of our IT systems,” U.S. Circuit Judge Michael Scudder told reporters during a news conference after a meeting on Tuesday.

In September, the ODNI released a separate report saying that Iran, China, and Russia were “trying by some measure to exacerbate divisions in U.S. society for their own benefit” ahead of the Nov. 5 elections. However, it found that no foreign actors were trying to interfere in the “conduct of the 2024 elections” such as through “cyber or physical disruptions of election infrastructure.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.