Trump blames Iran for email hack

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump’s US presidential campaign said on Sunday some of its internal communications were hacked and blamed the Iranian government, citing past hostilities between Trump and Iran without providing direct evidence.

The Republican’s campaign statement came shortly after news website Politico reported it had begun receiving emails in July from an anonymous source offering authentic documents from inside Trump’s operation, including a report about running mate JD Vance’s “potential vulnerabilities.”

“These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.

Late on Saturday, Trump posted on his Truth Social app that Microsoft MSFT.O had just informed the campaign that Iran had hacked one of its websites. He cast blame on Iran, adding they were “only able to get publicly available information.” He did not elaborate further on the hack. Reuters has not independently verified the identity of the alleged hackers or their motivation.