On Friday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the unsealing of an indictment against three Iranian nationals who allegedly were involved in the hacking plot against the Trump-Vance campaign.
As a press release from the DOJ began:
The Justice Department today announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Iranian nationals, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) employees, Masoud Jalili, 36, also known as, مسعود جلیلی, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, 34, also known as, سید علی آقامیری, and Yaser Balaghi, 37, also known as, یاسر بلاغی (the Conspirators), with a conspiracy with others known and unknown to hack into accounts of current and former U.S. officials, members of the media, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals associated with U.S. political campaigns. The activity was part of Iran’s continuing efforts to stoke discord, erode confidence in the U.S. electoral process, and unlawfully acquire information relating to current and former U.S. officials that could be used to advance the malign activities of the IRGC, including ongoing efforts to avenge the death of Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the IRGC – Qods Force (IRGC-QF).
Those are some nice words calling out "Iran's continuing efforts to stoke discord" as well as "erode confidence in the U.S. electoral process." It's also worth reminding that Attorney General Merrick Garland made an announcement earlier this month warning about Russia trying to "influence" the election, a narrative we've certainly heard before, and all while Iran remains such a threat. As Katie aptly asked at the time about the DOJ, "Does Anyone Believe Them?"
Such news about hacking came out in August, as Matt covered at the time, and more attempts were revealed last week as well. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan that same week also launched an investigation into such revelations about Iranians trying to help the Biden-Harris and now Harris-Walz campaign.
There's also a timeline mentioned by the DOJ, of "in or around May," and it also notes that the alleged actions took place after "several years."
As the press release went on to mention:
As alleged, in or around May, after several years of focusing on compromising the accounts of former U.S. government officials, the conspirators used some of the same hacking infrastructure from earlier in the conspiracy to begin targeting and successfully gaining unauthorized access to personal accounts belonging to persons associated with an identified U.S. Presidential campaign (U.S. Presidential Campaign 1), including campaign officials. The conspirators used their access to those accounts to steal, among other information, non-public campaign documents and emails (campaign material). The activity broadened in late June, when the conspirators engaged in a “hack-and-leak” operation, in which they sought to weaponize campaign material stolen from U.S. Presidential Campaign 1 by leaking such materials to members of the media and individuals associated with what was then another identified U.S. Presidential campaign (U.S. Presidential Campaign 2), in a deliberate effort to, as reflected in the conspirators’ own words and actions, undermine U.S. Presidential Campaign 1 in advance of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Susie Moore at our sister site of RedState, whose piece links to the indictment, laid out the 18 counts:
- (Count 1) Conspiracy to Defraud the United States; Conspiracy to Obtain Information from a Protected Computer; Defraud and Obtain a Thing of Value; Commit Fraud Involving Authentication Features; Commit Aggravated Identity Theft; Commit Access Device Fraud; and Commit Wire Fraud While Falsely Registering Domains
- (Count 2) Providing Material Support or Resources to Terrorists; Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization
- (Counts 3-10) Fraud by Wire, Radio, or Television; Wire Fraud
- (Counts 11-18) Fraud With Identification Documents; Aggravated Identity Theft
"The Justice Department is working relentlessly to uncover and counter Iran’s cyberattacks aimed at stoking discord, undermining confidence in our democratic institutions, and influencing our elections," Garland is quoted as saying. "The American people – not Iran, or any other foreign power – will decide the outcome of our country’s elections."
Although the press release did not mention Trump's campaign by name, Garland addressed the Republican nominee when speaking on Friday.
He laid out how the defendants, whom he described as "working for the Iranian government," were charged with "material support for terrorism, computer fraud, wire fraud, and identity theft for their roles in these cyber attacks."
"The defendants' own words make clear that they were attempting to undermine former President Trump's campaign in advance of the 2024 presidential election," Garland also shared.
GARLAND: "The defendants' [Iranian hackers] own words make clear that they were attempting to undermine former President Trump's campaign in advance of the 2024 presidential election." pic.twitter.com/lm0SzKqk2R
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 27, 2024
Between such news, and Israel taking out Hezbollah headquarters, it has not been a good day for those doing the bidding of Iran. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has also reportedly been eliminated as part of such an operation.
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