FBI probes Trump hack, Harris team says it was also targeted in failed attempt

WASHINGTON ? The FBI confirmed Monday afternoon it’s investigating allegations that Iranian cyber agents breached Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in another case of foreign intelligence services targeting U.S. elections, as the Kamala Harris campaign revealed it was the victim of a failed hack attempt.

Trump said on Saturday that Iran had hacked his 2024 political operation, confirming speculation that the Republican nominee was the unnamed victim of a June intrusion that the tech giant Microsoft had exposed a day earlier.

“We can confirm the FBI is investigating this matter,” the bureau said in a statement.

The Harris campaign said Monday that it too was the target of a “spear phishing” attack – this one unsuccessful – aimed at breaching its firewall, the Washington Post reported.

"Our campaign vigilantly monitors and protects against cyber threats, and we are not aware of any security breaches of our systems," a Harris campaign official told USA TODAY.

More: Trump campaign says 'hostile' foreign sources hacked and leaked internal documents, emails

On Monday, the White House deferred to the FBI on the alleged Trump hack. “This administration strongly condemns any foreign government or entity who attempts to interfere in our electoral process or seeks to undermine confidence in our democratic institution,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

Trump said in a social media post that the hackers had only snagged “publicly available information.”

More: Iran increasingly cyber-meddling in upcoming US election, Microsoft says in new warning

More: New Trump is a lot like old Trump. Will 2016 tactics work in 2024?

But news of the infiltration was quickly followed by revelations that at least two news organizations had received what appeared to be a document examining Sen. JD Vance’s vulnerabilities ahead of his mid-July selection as Trump’s running-mate – material potentially damaging to a GOP ticket in a neck in neck campaign.

“Any media or news outlet reprinting documents or internal communications are doing the bidding of America’s enemies and doing exactly what they want,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement Saturday.

In 2016, Trump opponent Hillary Clinton's campaign was beset by damaging revelations after Russian hackers breached the Democratic National Committee's email servers. Trump who had publicly asked Russia to hack Clinton, celebrated that breach and even read portions of the purloined emails aloud at a campaign rally.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: FBI probes Trump hack blamed on Iran; Harris campaign also targeted