Federal law enforcement officials are preparing to file criminal charges against those responsible for carrying out Iran’s hacking of former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign.
The investigation was initiated after an online persona named “Robert” approached news organizations and offered reporters documents that they claimed were obtained while working for the campaign, The Washington Post reported.
“Robert” is an individual or group that was allegedly acting at the direction of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the sole purpose of hacking Trump’s campaign and then disseminating damaging information about it to news organizations in hopes of influencing the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
ABC News reported that criminal charges are expected to be filed as soon as next week.
The cyberattack targeted top Trump campaign officials, including Susie Wiles, one of his campaign managers, and other campaign advisers.
The Post noted that when these types of cyberattacks are launched at U.S. officials, those responsible usually live in countries that will not extradite them to the U.S., so the chances that they will ever face trial are slim, at least in the near future.
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Federal authorities still proceed with the charges because sometimes the suspects will travel to another country that does extradite criminals and because they believe that “name and shame” campaigns can potentially deter some from participating in these types of attacks in the future.
Matthew Olsen, the head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, warned this week about Iran’s rapidly increasing aggression against the U.S., especially surrounding the upcoming election and Trump.
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.”
