By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON/TEHRAN (Worthy News) – The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating suspected hacking attempts by Iran targeting the presidential campaigns of Donald J. Trump and the Biden-Harris campaign, Worthy News learned.
Officials said the FBI had opened a high-stakes national security investigation months before the presidential Election Day.
The FBI said Monday it began investigating after Trump’s presidential campaign said its internal communications were hacked and blamed the Iranian government.
The former president said on Saturday that tech giant Microsoft had informed his campaign that Iran had hacked one of its websites.
He hastened to add that Iran was “only able to get publicly available information.” Tehran denied that it hacked the Trump campaign.
However, “Any media or news outlet reprinting documents or internal communications are doing the bidding of America’s enemies and doing exactly what they want,” said Steven Cheung, the campaign’s communications director.
HACKJNG CHEERLEADER
Ironically, critics say that Trump was once a cheerleader for publicizing hacked materials. “Russia, if you’re listening,” Trump said during a press conference in his 2016 presidential run, when Hillary Clinton’s deleted personal emails were a hot topic, “I hope you are able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.”
“I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press,” he said back then.
The attempted intrusions occurred before President Joe Biden announced that he would not stand for reelection and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democratic nominee.
Sources familiar with the matter said three staffers on the Biden-Harris campaign received spear-phishing emails designed to appear legitimate but could give intruders access to the recipients’ communications. These people said investigators have not found evidence that those hacking attempts were successful so far.
Details about the reported leaks came while polls by The New York Times and Siena College released this weekend showed Harris with leads in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
However, Trump was to appear Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern time on X, formerly known as Twitter, for an interview with the website’s owner, Elon Musk. Analysts said it will culminate in Musk’s emergence as one of Trump’s wealthiest and most high-profile backers.
For Trump, the event could offer an opportunity to regain some of the spotlight from Harris, who forced his campaign to recalibrate its strategy less than three months before Election Day.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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