Federal authorities are preparing to file criminal charges over Iran’s alleged hack and leak attack against Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, according to people familiar with the matter.
The FBI investigation has focused on an online persona named “Robert” who contacted American reporters, these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe details of an ongoing investigation. That persona shared campaign documents they falsely claimed to have obtained while working with the Trump campaign, the people said.
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Investigators have said the person, or people, posing as Robert was acting on behalf of the Iranian government and offering data files stolen from Trump advisers’ email accounts to news organizations.
Criminal charges could be filed in a matter of days, these people said. Spokeswomen for the Justice Department and the FBI declined to comment.
Among the hacking targets was adviser Susie Wiles, one of the most senior officials on the Trump campaign. Others in Trump’s orbit were also compromised, including campaign advisers, the people familiar with the investigation said. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More details of the charges — and who specifically will be charged — were not immediately available. When foreign nations conduct cyberattacks on US figures, the perpetrators often live in countries that will not extradite them to the United States, making it unlikely they will ever face trial.
However, in the last decade US officials have launched “name and shame” campaigns against hackers in Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea in the hopes of deterring such conduct.
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The FBI and US intelligence agencies concluded last month that Iran was responsible for recent attempted hacks into both the Trump and the Biden-Harris presidential campaigns. People familiar with the investigation had previously said they did not see evidence that the Biden adviser accounts were compromised, though they continue to gather evidence.
Justice Department officials now believe they have enough evidence to file criminal charges, the people familiar with the matter said.
The evidence reviewed by investigators includes at least some of “Robert’s” emails with reporters, the people said. The persona offered files to reporters at The Washington Post and Politico.
It wasn’t immediately clear how authorities were able to obtain those messages. Spokespeople for the two publications said they did not cooperate with the government investigation.
As part of the scheme, campaign staffers received phishing emails that were designed to appear legitimate but could give an intruder access to the recipients’ communications, The Post has previously reported, citing people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive investigation.
Matthew Olsen, the head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, warned Thursday in a speech in New York that foreign nations’ efforts to interfere in American elections “present a clear and present danger to our democracy.”
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Speaking less than two months before Election Day, Olsen said Iran “is making a greater effort to influence this year’s election than it has in prior election cycles.”
“Iranian activity is growing increasingly aggressive as this election nears,” he said. “Iran perceives this year’s elections to be particularly consequential in impacting Iran’s national security interests, increasing Tehran’s inclination to try to shape the outcome.”
His comments echo warnings issued by the FBI earlier this summer that “the Iranians have through social engineering and other efforts sought access to individuals with direct access to the Presidential campaigns of both political parties.”
Such tactics are not new. US intelligence officials have said that Iran’s efforts to stoke societal discord in the United States and undermine Trump’s bid to regain the White House are a repeat of the country’s efforts in 2020. Russia has also led similar cyberattacks.
“Iran and Russia have employed these tactics not only in the United States during this and prior federal election cycles but also in other countries around the world,” the FBI and US intelligence agencies said in a joint statement this summer.
The FBI began its investigation into suspected Iranian hacking directed at the US presidential campaigns in June, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
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FBI agents worked with Google and Microsoft, two major providers of email services, to examine what appeared to be a phishing effort targeting people associated with the presidential campaigns, people familiar with the investigation previously told The Post.
FBI and private computer security experts have said Iran was behind spear-phishing emails sent in June to Roger Stone, a longtime informal adviser to Trump. The ruse was successful, and hackers were able to take control of Stone’s email account and send messages with spear-phishing links to others, people familiar with the investigation said. Stone has acknowledged being contacted by the FBI and notified that his emails were hacked.