Trump Campaign Sees Iran Behind Hack of Vance File

News outlets have received internal files from 'Robert'
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 11, 2024 2:25 PM CDT
Trump Campaign Suggests Iran Hacked Its Vance Dossier
Sen. JD Vance and Donald Trump appear at a campaign rally at Georgia State University in Atlanta on Aug 3.   (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

Donald Trump's campaign says it didn't send confidential vetting files on Sen. JD Vance to news outlets. Politico reports it began receiving emails with the dossier from an AOL account attributed to "Robert" on July 22. "These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process," campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said Saturday. The Trump campaign suggested Iranian hackers are to blame.

Cheung cited a report issued Friday by Microsoft that says Iranian hackers broke into the account of a "high ranking official" in a US presidential campaign in June. After that report was issued, Iran's United Nations mission denied any plans to interfere with the election, per CBS News. US security agencies in July indicated that Iran has started an influence campaign against Trump's candidacy. "The Iranians know that President Trump will stop their reign of terror just like he did in his first four years in the White House," Cheung said. He said outlets publishing such documents "are doing the bidding of America's enemies and doing exactly what they want."

The Washington Post reports receiving a 271-page document on Vance, now Trump's running mate, dated Feb. 23, also through AOL from a Robert. The sender would not speak to a reporter on the phone but emailed, "Consider me as an anonymous resource who has access to djtfp24 campaign." The Trump campaign's response is unlike that of 2016, when Trump praised the release by WikiLeaks of hacked emails stolen from Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, per the Post. "I love WikiLeaks," Trump said at the time, later adding of the release, "You gotta read it." (More Donald Trump 2024 stories.)

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