August 12th 2024.
The Washington Post recently reported that the Trump campaign suspects their email systems were hacked by Iran. This has raised concerns among intelligence experts about potential disruptions in future elections. The campaign made this announcement on August 10th, following questions from news organizations about a leaked internal vetting document on vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance. The 271-page document, marked as "privileged & confidential," was sent anonymously from an AOL user named "Robert." The first news outlet to receive this document, along with others, was Politic on July 22nd.
According to a report released by Microsoft, the tech company discovered evidence that Iranian hackers attempted to break into the email account of a high-ranking official on a U.S. presidential campaign in June 2024. This coincides with the time when Vance was selected as Trump's running mate. Trump's campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung, addressed this report and stated that the Iranians were also planning to assassinate President Trump around the same time as the Butler, PA tragedy. Cheung also wrote that the Iranians are aware of Trump's determination to stop their reign of terror, just as he did during his first four years in the White House. He warned media outlets against reprinting any documents or internal communications, stating that it would only benefit America's enemies.
While it is not certain that Iran was responsible for the hack attempt, the security breach has raised concerns among analysts and intelligence experts about potential efforts from foreign powers to disrupt the U.S. presidential election. Former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Chris Kreb, made a cryptic post on social media, hinting at the need to "buckle up" and referencing Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Kreb also emphasized the importance of paper ballots and audits as a strong resilience measure against election interference. He concluded that the chaos is the ultimate goal for those running the "2016 playbook."
It is worth noting that Trump himself had publicly encouraged Russia to hack into former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's private server and release her emails during the 2016 election season. He later claimed it was a joke. In response to the recent hack, Democratic House members, including Rep. Eric Swalwell, have called for briefings and for the declassification of information related to possible foreign election interference. Swalwell, a top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee's cybersecurity subcommittee, requested a briefing from the Department of Homeland Security on August 11th. He stated that while Trump may be the most despicable person to seek office, it does not justify tolerating foreign interference in elections.
Once informed of the breach, a spokesperson from the U.S National Security Council released a statement condemning any attempts to interfere in the electoral process. The statement emphasized the Biden-Harris Administration's strong stance against foreign governments or entities attempting to undermine confidence in American democratic institutions. In related news, it has been confirmed that Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have agreed to participate in a presidential debate on September 10th.
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