Referring to federal revelations that individuals with ties to the Biden campaign had been targeted by Iranian actors with emails containing stolen Trump campaign materials, the Harris campaign said it was not aware of any materials sent “directly” to the Biden campaign, but that some people received the emails on their personal accounts.
“Since learning that individuals associated with the then-Biden campaign were targeted in this foreign influence operation, we have cooperated with the appropriate law enforcement authorities,” Morgan Finkelstein, a spokesman for the Harris-Waltz campaign, said in a statement.
“We are not aware of any material sent directly to the campaign. Several individuals were targeted with emails that appear to be spam and phishing attempts,” Finkelstein added. “We strongly condemn any attempt by a foreign power to interfere in a U.S. election, including this unwelcome, unacceptable and malicious activity.”
“Malicious Iranian cyber actors sent unsolicited emails between late June and early July to individuals then associated with President Biden's campaign that contained excerpts of non-public materials stolen from former President Trump's campaign,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said in a joint statement released on Wednesday.
Pakistani man with Iran ties pleads innocent in plot to assassinate US politician
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Leadership Conference at the Ronald Reagan Building, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
“At this time, we have no information to indicate that the recipients have responded,” the statement continued. “Furthermore, Iranian malicious cyber actors have continued efforts since June to send stolen, non-public materials related to former President Trump's election campaign to U.S. media organizations.”
Officials said the “malicious cyber activity” was the latest example of Iran's multi-pronged approach to “stoking discord and undermining confidence in the electoral process.”
“As the lead in our response to this threat, the FBI is tracking this activity, contacting victims, and will continue to investigate and gather intelligence to pursue and disrupt those responsible for the threat,” the statement said. “As we approach November, foreign powers are stepping up their efforts to influence the election. Russia, Iran and China, in particular, are seeking to exacerbate divisions in American society in any way for their own gain and view the election period as a vulnerable time.”
Carolyn Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, said the latest developments were “further evidence that Iran is actively interfering in the election to support Kamala Harris and Joe Biden because they know President Trump will reinstate tough sanctions and resist their reign of terror.”
Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump pumps his fist as he leaves a campaign event at the Nassau Coliseum, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Uniondale, New York. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“Kamala and Biden must come clean about whether they used hacking materials provided by Iran to harm President Trump — what they knew and when they knew it,” she said in a statement.
A Harris campaign official told Fox News Digital that “the materials were not used.”
FBI says Iran sent stolen materials from Trump campaign to Biden campaign to try to influence election
President Biden (left) holds the arm of Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris (right) on stage at the Congressional Black Caucus' Phoenix Awards ceremony in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Federal authorities have said they have thwarted Iranian assassination plots against U.S. politicians in recent months. U.S. authorities have said President Trump, as well as Biden and Sen. Nikki Haley, were targeted. Earlier this week, a Pakistani man with deep ties to Iran was indicted in Brooklyn federal court on charges he paid an undercover agent he believed to be a hit man to carry out an assassination this summer.
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Trump faced two assassination attempts within two months, one at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and another while golfing on a course in West Palm Beach, Florida, though authorities have not publicly linked either plot to Iran.
Fox News' Sarah Lampe Whitten and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
