Trump campaign’s suspected Iranian hack may still be happening

A suspected Iranian hack of Donald Trump's presidential campaign has continued within the last 10 days and may still be happening, according to a journalist who received illegally obtained documents from the Republican nominee's election effort.

Judd Legum, the publisher of the progressive newsletter Popular Information, revealed that he was sent a letter that Trump's lawyer had written to the New York Times on 15 September from a source called "Robert", as well as dossiers on three potential running mates, including JD Vance, the current GOP vice-presidential nominee.

The letter was verified to be authentic. "Robert" appeared to be the same source who had leaked other Trump materials to Politico, the New York Times and the Washington Post in August. The FBI has said it is investigating that leak as a suspected Iranian hack. The source known as "Robert" has been linked by a Microsoft threat analysis to a group within the theocratic regime's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which sent out phishing emails to presidential campaigns.

US intelligence agencies revealed last week that Iranian hackers passed sensitive information stolen from Trump's campaign to Joe Biden's now-defunct presidential campaign in June and July. Legum's disclosure suggests that the breach may have been more extensive than previously known and could still be under way despite the efforts of US security agencies.

Legum said that he received a message from "Robert" on 18 September containing the cover page of a dossier on Vance. "Robert refused to identify himself," Legum wrote, except to suggest it was the same "Robert" from the previous leaks.

Legum - whose own communications were made public after the 2016 Russian hack of Hillary Clinton's then campaign chair John Podesta - described then receiving a 271-page file on Vance, along with thick dossiers on Doug Burgum, the South Dakota governor, and Marco Rubio, the Florida senator, both of whom were considered by Trump as possible running mates. All documents were marked "Privileged & Confidential".

He said he was also sent a dozen emails purporting to be from senior Trump advisers Susie Wiles and Dan Scavino and pollster John McLaughlin, dated from October 2023 until last August.

Legum said he also received a four-page letter sent by a Trump lawyer to three individuals at the New York Times just nine days ago, further evidence that the breach had not been plugged.

"The letter has not been made public by either the Trump campaign or the paper," Legum wrote.

Legum then provided a copy of the letter to Ben Smith, the editor-in-chief of Semafor, who confirmed it as genuine after checking with a source at the New York Times who had already seen it. The letter complained about a Times article that questioned Trump's validity as a successful businessman, Smith wrote in a separate piece.

"The legitimacy of the letter proves that the person or people representing themselves as Robert has stolen electronic communications from people associated with the Trump campaign within the last 10 days," Legum concluded.

During a rally in New York last Wednesday, Trump referred to the disclosure of the breach from US intelligence agencies, saying: "Iran hacked into my campaign. I don't know what the hell they found, I'd like to find out. Couldn't have been too exciting."

The campaigns of Biden and Kamala Harris, as well as the media outlets that have received stolen Trump materials, have all declined to make them public - a stark contrast to the 2016 hack of Clinton, the results of which were published in multiple outlets, while Trump vocally encouraged Russia to continue hacking.

Legum said he would stick to the current policy of non-publication.

"It was tempting to use this opportunity to turn the tables on the Trump campaign and publish the stolen campaign materials provided to me by Robert," he wrote. "But I believe that is the wrong approach."

A Trump campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, said the hack showed that Iran is "terrified of the strength and resolve of Donald J Trump".

Suspected Iranian-backed plots to kill Trump - who has already survived two assassination attempts during the campaign - prompted the Secret Service in July to step up additional security at his rallies. The following month, a Pakistani national with suspected links to Iran was arrested on suspicion of plotting political assassinations on US soil, including against Trump.