FBI probes cyberattacks on Trump, Harris campaigns

Roger Stone at a Donald Trump rally in 2022 — Trump operative Roger Stone said the FBI and Microsoft have informed him that his personal email accounts were compromised

(Image credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

What happened

The FBI said it was investigating a "campaign cyber-intrusion," days after Donald Trump's presidential campaign said it had been hacked by Iran. The FBI investigation was reportedly opened in June after apparently unsuccessful attempts to infiltrate President Joe Biden's campaign, since retooled for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

Who said what

The Harris campaign said it "vigilantly monitors and protects against cyber threats" and is "not aware of any security breaches of our systems." Trump's campaign acknowledged it was hacked after Politico said an AOL account began emailing reporters purloined campaign documents in July. The Trump team did not report the hack to the FBI.

In blaming Iran, Trump's campaign pointed to a report released Friday by Microsoft warning of foreign efforts to interfere in the U.S. election, including an Iranian military intelligence unit sending a June "spear-phishing email to a high-ranking official of a presidential campaign from a compromised email account of a former senior adviser." Trump operative Roger Stone told The Washington Post on Monday that the FBI and Microsoft had informed him months ago that "a couple of my personal email accounts have been compromised," and he's "cooperating. It's all very strange."

"Trump, who blamed Democrats for poor information security when they were hacked in 2016, has expressed frustration over the hack," the Post said, citing Trump campaign advisers. Stone was convicted of seven felonies in part for lying about his efforts to coordinate the leak of Hillary Clinton's private emails in 2016. Trump pardoned him in 2020.

What next?

"Foreign malign influence" operations tied to the U.S. election "started off slowly" but have "steadily picked up the pace," Microsoft said. "Recent activity suggests the Iranian regime — along with the Kremlin — may be equally engaged in election 2024."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.