An Iran-linked hacking group has threatened to release a batch of emails it said it has stolen from President Donald Trump’s longtime aides, including adviser Roger Stone and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Reuters reported Monday that a cyberattack group that hacked the president’s campaign in 2024 claimed it had roughly 100 gigabytes of emails it could leak.
The hackers, operating under the pseudonym Robert, did not provide information about the content of the emails or when they plan to release them, according to the news agency. The group previously released some emails in the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election last year.
In online chats with Reuters, they said they also had emails from the accounts of Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan and Stormy Daniels, the adult film actress who it was revealed was paid $130,000 to sign a non-disclosure agreement about an affair she says she had with Trump.
A “hostile foreign adversary is threatening to illegally exploit purportedly stolen and unverified material in an effort to distract, discredit, and divide,” the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said late on Monday.
Newsweek has contacted the White House and Iran’s mission to the United Nations for comment by email.
The development highlights ongoing efforts by Washington to tackle foreign interference targeting the White House.
In an indictment in September, the U.S. Justice Department under the Biden administration accused three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps of being behind a leak that ultimately did not disrupt the presidential election. The hacking group didn’t respond to the allegations at the time, and Tehran has repeatedly denied involvement in cyberespionage.
CISA spokesperson Marci McCarthy called the intrusion a “calculated smear campaign” intended to damage the president.
FBI Director Kash Patel warned in a statement to Reuters: “Anyone associated with any kind of breach of national security will be fully investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Reuters authenticated some material in the previous leak, which emerged in the run-up to the presidential election. The material, which included emails from accounts including that of Wiles, was sent out to journalists.
One email appeared to detail a financial arrangement between Trump and attorneys representing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick for health secretary. Another discussed settlement negotiations with Daniels, the news agency said.
The latest threat comes at a time of high tension between the U.S. and Iran after Trump ordered U.S. strikes on the country’s nuclear facilities in June.
Trump had claimed the strikes had led to the “total obliteration” of the facilities but the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said Sunday the attacks fell short of destroying Tehran’s nuclear program and said the country could enrich uranium again “in a matter of months.”
According to Reuters, the hackers said they had no intention to leak material following the election of Trump to a second term in the White House. But that changed after Trump intervened in the escalating Iran-Israel crisis following 12 days of hostilities.
Robert said they wanted Reuters to “broadcast this matter.”
What People Are Saying
CISA spokesperson Marci McCarthy said in a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter): “A hostile foreign adversary is threatening to illegally exploit purportedly stolen and unverified material in an effort to distract, discredit, and divide. This so-called cyber ‘attack’ is nothing more than digital propaganda, and the targets are no coincidence.
“This is a calculated smear campaign meant to damage President Trump and discredit honorable public servants who serve our country with distinction.”
What Happens Next
CISA has warned “these criminals will be found, and they will be brought to justice.”
“Let this be a warning to others, there will be no refuge, tolerance, or leniency for these actions,” it said.
Newsweek