The Harris campaign has responded to recent revelations by federal agencies that individuals connected to the Biden campaign were targeted by Iranian actors using emails containing stolen Trump campaign materials. According to the campaign, while some individuals received these emails on their personal accounts, there is no indication that any material was sent directly to the campaign itself.
In a statement, Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Morgan Finkelstein explained the campaign’s awareness of the situation. “We have 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,” she said. Finkelstein also stressed that the campaign condemns all foreign efforts to interfere in U.S. elections, calling the cyberattacks “unacceptable” and “malicious.”
Yes, they are actually claiming they are victims.
The cyberattack, disclosed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), involved Iranian actors sending emails containing stolen, non-public material from Trump’s campaign. The agencies have found no evidence that recipients of these emails replied or engaged with the material. However, they noted that Iranian actors continue efforts to send this information to U.S. media outlets in a broader campaign to destabilize the U.S. election process.
The federal agencies warned that foreign interference, particularly from Iran, Russia, and China, remains a serious threat as the 2024 election nears. These countries, according to U.S. intelligence, aim to exploit moments of vulnerability during election periods to deepen divisions in American society.
As this story unfolds, former President Donald Trump has responded with characteristic force, taking to TRUTH Social to demand action against the Harris campaign. “WHEN DOES KAMALA AND HER CAMPAIGN GO BEFORE A GRAND JURY ON IRAN, IRAN, IRAN?” Trump wrote, claiming that the Iran-linked email scandal is a real corruption case, unlike what he calls the “Russia, Russia, Russia hoax” that plagued his presidency. His campaign spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, echoed this sentiment, asserting that the Iranian interference was intended to help Harris and Biden, both of whom Iran allegedly views as more favorable than Trump.
Leavitt further called for transparency from the Harris campaign, asking them to reveal whether they had knowledge of the hacked materials or used them to damage Trump’s campaign. In response, a Harris campaign official denied any use of the stolen material, dismissing the notion of impropriety.
The Iranian cyberattacks are part of a broader pattern of foreign actors attempting to interfere in U.S. elections. Alongside these hacking attempts, Iran has been tied to assassination plots targeting high-profile U.S. figures, including Trump, President Biden, and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley. Most recently, a Pakistani man with connections to Iran was charged with trying to hire hitmen to carry out these attacks.
Trump himself has faced two assassination attempts in recent months—one at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and another while golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida. Though authorities have not linked either plot directly to Iran, they add to the tense backdrop of increasing foreign influence and political instability.
As federal authorities continue to investigate these cyber threats and assassination attempts, the fallout from these revelations will likely intensify the already fraught atmosphere as the 2024 election approaches.