The Justice Department is preparing to file criminal charges in an alleged Iranian hack that targeted former President Trump’s campaign, according to media reports.
The Associated Press reported it wasn’t immediately clear who would be charged, but that it would be the result of an investigation into intrusion and multiple agencies linked to an Iranian effort to influence this year’s U.S. presidential election.
The expected charges are part of an effort to combat covert foreign influence activities aimed at influencing voters in the 2024 election cycle.
Iran “is making a greater effort to influence this year’s election than it has in prior election cycles, and that Iranian activity is growing increasingly aggressive as this election nears,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, the Justice Department’s top national security official, said in a speech Thursday in New York. “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.”
ANTI-REGIME ACTIVISTS IN IRAN TAKE CREDIT FOR TORCHING OF SOLEIMANI STATUE
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. The DOJ is preparing charges against Iran over its alleged efforts to influence the 2024 election cycle. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump campaign, DOJ and the Iranian Permanent Mission to the United Nations for comment. The Washington Post first reported that the charges were being prepared.
The Justice Department has warned of nations like Russia and China trying to meddle in the presidential race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Some of the efforts include hacking and using social media to influence public opinion.
In August, the Trump campaign said Iranians had stolen sensitive documents through hacking.
The FBI, the office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency blamed that hack, as well as an attempted breach of the Biden-Harris campaign, on Iran.
FBI INVESTIGATING IRAN’S HACK OF TRUMP CAMPAIGN DOCUMENTS
Former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, participates in a Fox News town hall with Sean Hannity at the New Holland Arena on Sept. 4, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“The IC is confident 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,” a joint statement said at the time.
“Such activity, including thefts and disclosures, are intended to influence the U.S. election process,” the statement added. “It is important to note that this approach is not new. 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.”
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The statement didn’t say whether Iran prefers one candidate over another, but Trump has long been considered a target by Tehran after he ordered a 2020 strike that killed Iranian Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Forces.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
