DOJ Indicts Three Men Over Alleged Iran Hack Of Trump Campaign

After rumors began to circulate that the Biden administration was colluding with Iran against Donald Trump, the DOJ unsealed criminal charges Friday against three men accused of carrying out an Iranian hack and leak attack against Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Apparently the Russians are sitting this one out.

The indictment also comes on the heels of recent headlines about Iranian assassination efforts targeting Trump, which have wiped the fact that two Democrat assassins actually went after the former president.

The charges allege that Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, and Yasar Balaghi orchestrated a sophisticated hack-and-leak attack aimed at sowing discord and undermining confidence in the U.S. electoral process.

The operation, which allegedly began targeting email accounts associated with Trump’s campaign staff and other close contacts, was first identified by the FBI in June. An online persona named “Robert” emerged as a central figure in the campaign – contacting American reporters and offering campaign documents purported to be insider information. These documents were, according to the indictment, part of Iran’s alleged efforts to influence public opinion and electoral outcomes by leveraging stolen data, suggesting a deliberate strategy to exploit media channels for Iran’s political ends.

Of course, if there was anything actually damaging to Trump in the hack, we imagine it would have leaked through ‘proper’ channels, source be damned.

According to the indictment, the three accused men “prepared for and engaged in a wide-ranging hacking campaign” which targeted current and former US officials, political campaigns, members of the media, and others, WaPo reports.

“Such activity is part of Iran’s continuing efforts to stoke discord, erode confidence in the U.S. electoral process, and unlawfully acquire information” that could help Iran, the indictment continues.

U.S. authorities have said the person, or people, posing as Robert was acting on behalf of the Iranian government and offering news organizations data files stolen from the email accounts of Trump advisers.

Among the hacking targets was adviser Susie Wiles, one of the most senior officials on the Trump campaign. Others in Trump’s camp were also compromised, including campaign advisers, the people familiar with the investigation said. -WaPo

The indictment elaborates on the tactics used, including the creation of an “end-to-end workflow” for targeted hacking and data dissemination.