Former State Department Anti-Terror Adviser Morgan Wright discussed the potential foreign hack of Donald Trump’s campaign on “Fox and Friends Weekend,” expressing concern that this type of cyber interference is “something we’re gonna live with now.”
The Trump campaign, representing the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, has accused “foreign sources hostile to the United States” of stealing campaign information and sharing it with Politico starting in late July, according to the outlet.
BREAKING: The Trump campaign has been hacked, and the hacker is leaking internal comms from high level staffers to Politico.
Iran is believed to be behind the hack. The hack appears to be payback for what he did to Qassem Soleimani.
Campaign spox Steven Cheung: “These… pic.twitter.com/MeuWsb08jJ
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) August 10, 2024
Speaking with Fox News co-host Will Cain, Wright emphasized that the hack was “definitely political” and “designed to damage” Trump’s campaign, highlighting that the stolen information was specifically sent to Politico.
Wright explained, “When you look at transnational criminal groups like ransomware groups, for them it’s about the money. This is not something they get involved in.”
🚨🇺🇸TRUMP HACKED: SENSITIVE VANCE VETTING FILE LEAKED?!
Trump’s campaign has confirmed that internal communications were hacked, leading to the leak of a sensitive 271-page vetting dossier on JD Vance.
The document reportedly details Vance’s past record, potential… https://t.co/1vmnLcn8a3 pic.twitter.com/P89prnR6AK
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) August 10, 2024
The Trump campaign referenced a Microsoft intelligence report released on Friday, which indicated that hackers linked to the Iranian armed forces had “sent a spear-phishing email to a high-ranking official of a presidential campaign” in June. Wright noted the timing of the Microsoft report and the subsequent news of the attack.
Wright told the Fox News co-host, “The director of national intelligence, the DNI, and Microsoft put out reporting just a few days ago talking about how a senior official in a presidential campaign was targeted through a spear-phishing attack. And that’s important because it means a particular person was identified, somebody who they think might have had a relationship or be amenable to opening a document, pasting maybe a PDF or a link. And that’s how the initial compromise occurred.”
Earlier this year, U.S. intelligence reportedly uncovered a plot by the Iranian government to assassinate Trump. In response, the Secret Service heightened security measures around the former president.
Trump narrowly escaped injury on July 13 when a bullet grazed his ear during an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.