Iranian Interference

The Trump campaign has allegedly been hacked, with internal documents leaked to at least three major media outlets. Politico, the Washington Post, and the New York Times have all reported having received private information compiled by the former President’s team, including vetting materials related to Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance, as well as reported finalist for the position Marco Rubio.

While all three outlets have declined to publish the information, they believe it to be accurate and adequately confirmed. For his part, Trump has suggested the hack may have come from Iran following a Microsoft announcement that the nation had breached internal security. Google has seemingly confirmed Trump’s suspicion, releasing a report that it had thwarted an attempt by Iran to breach the security of both his and Biden’s campaigns this Spring.

Security experts have recently warned that actors from Russia, China, and Iran may attempt to use hack-and-release techniques to influence the upcoming election, specifically to upset a potential Trump presidency. Presumably, the former President is seen as having a more robust presence internationally, with the Harris/Walz campaign being a more palatable adversary. During his first term, Trump authorized a drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, a high-ranking Iranian official, while the Biden administration has regularly deferred to the hostile nation.

Almost immediately after taking office, Biden began to roll back Trump’s policy towards Iran, known as “maximum pressure,” which had been introduced after the former President withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), broadly known as the Iranian Nuclear Deal. The scheme, organized by President Obama and then-Vice President Biden, allowed Iran to continue acting as an integrated part of the global economy while furthering their nefarious agenda.

One of his first official acts after being inaugurated was to undo United Nations sanctions on Iran pioneered by the Trump administration, and President Biden has spent the last few years helping the nation regain its losses. Since the American transfer of power, Iran has been able to increase its oil production by a factor of 10 and pour the resulting profit into clandestine military activity. This is on top of the nearly $70 billion President Biden has freed up for Iranian use, including $6 billion paid outright for the return of 5 American hostages.

The recent hack comes on the heels of speculation that Iran could be behind the assassination attempt on Trump in July. While that event has not yet been tied to the hostile nation, a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran was arrested this summer on a murder-for-hire charge aimed at a politician or United States official, who many believe to be Donald Trump. While said terrorist was in custody before he was able to meaningfully carry out his plan, the assassination attempt on July 13, along with the connected murder of an innocent bystander, may have been related. A bipartisan group of Senators is currently demanding an investigation into whether information regarding the arrest and uncovered plot was adequately shared with Trump’s Secret Service.

Who do you think is behind the hacking of the Trump campaign? Why did the Washington Post, Politico, and New York Times decline to release the information they received?

Hilary Gunn is a Connecticut native with a degree in Criminal Justice from the George Washington University. She works for a nonprofit and has previously collaborated with the CT GOP as an activist, political campaign manager and field director, and social media organizer. She is currently serving in her fourth term of municipal office and has previously acted as a delegate on the Republican Town Committee.