US Department of Justice prepares charges in connection with Iran hack targeting Trump’s campaign team

The Justice Department is preparing to file criminal charges in connection with the Iranian regime’s hacking of former President Donald Trump’s campaign, according to multiple reports.

U.S. Justice Department officials believe they have gathered enough evidence to bring charges against the suspected hacker or hackers who stole information from Trump campaign advisers’ email accounts in July and leaked it to news outlets, the Washington Post and Associated Press reported Thursday.

The exact nature of the charges, who will be charged and when the complaint will be filed is unknown.

The FBI’s cybercrime investigation focused on one or more individuals who appeared online under the name “Robert.”

“Robert” is a person allegedly linked to Iran who offered Trump campaign materials to reporters at the Washington Post and Politico, apparently in an attempt to interfere in the 2024 presidential election.

Tehran’s targets reportedly included Trump’s lawyer Lindsey Halligan and senior campaign adviser Susie Wiles.

Last month, the Trump campaign admitted to being the victim of a hacker attack – and blamed Iran for it. Politico had reported that it had received a dossier on Republican Senator JD Vance from Ohio, which the campaign team allegedly compiled months before he was nominated as vice president.

The outlet did not provide details about what it received, but said the material was forwarded through an AOL email account belonging to “Robert.”

Officials from the FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency confirmed last month that Iran was behind a hacking attack and also attempted to break into the Biden campaign’s email accounts.

Microsoft and Google had previously announced that Iran had violated a campaign.

Hackers acting on behalf of foreign governments are typically based abroad, in countries that won’t extradite them to the U.S., so they’re unlikely to ever face justice.

US Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, who heads the US Department of Justice’s National Security Division, said on Thursday that Iran is “making greater efforts to influence this year’s election than in previous election cycles, and its activities are becoming increasingly aggressive as the election approaches.”

“Iran views this year’s elections as particularly consequential to Iran’s national security interests, increasing Tehran’s inclination to influence the outcome,” he said in a speech in New York City, according to the Associated Press.

The Post has reached out to the Justice Department and the Trump campaign team for comment.