In a significant development, US investigators revealed on Wednesday that Iranian hackers had sent sensitive information stolen from the Trump campaign to President Joe Biden's campaign earlier this summer. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI, and CISA jointly stated that the emails were transmitted in June and July to individuals associated with the Biden campaign. These emails contained excerpts taken from non-public material that had been pilfered from former President Trump's campaign.

This disclosure sheds new light on the various tactics employed by Iran to damage the Trump campaign, indicating their persistence, despite previous attempts by US officials to expose their activities. POLITICO had earlier reported on the attempted hack-and-leak efforts by Iran in August.

The agencies further revealed that since June, Iranian hackers had continued their efforts to leak non-public Trump campaign materials to media organizations. The extent to which the then-Biden campaign made use of the information sent by Iran remains unclear. However, the three agencies emphasized that the emails were unsolicited and that campaign staff did not respond to them.

In response to the revelation, Morgan Finkelstein, spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign, which replaced the Biden campaign, stated that they had cooperated with law enforcement authorities since becoming aware of the information being sent to Biden campaign personnel. Finkelstein clarified that no material had been sent directly to the campaign, and that a few individuals had been targeted on their personal emails with what appeared to be spam or phishing attempts. The campaign condemned the malicious activity and any foreign interference in US elections.

Meanwhile, Karoline Leavitt, spokesperson for the Trump campaign, viewed the Iranian hackers' actions as proof of their active interference in the election to assist Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, recognizing that President Trump's tough sanctions posed a threat to Iran. Leavitt called on Biden and Harris to disclose whether they had used the hacked material provided by the Iranians to undermine President Trump.

Chris LaCivita, a senior advisor to the Trump campaign, also expressed his opinion on the matter, suggesting a collaboration between Iran, Biden/Harris, and the American Press Corps. He insinuated that these entities had cooperated in disseminating material that was damaging to the Trump campaign.

It was previously reported by POLITICO in August that the Trump campaign fell victim to a hack and leak campaign, which was later traced back to Iran by federal authorities and private sector companies. POLITICO itself had received stolen campaign documents.

The FBI, as the agencies mentioned, has been closely monitoring this activity, maintaining communication with the victims, and will continue to investigate and gather information to pursue and disrupt the responsible threat actors. The agencies highlighted that Iran, along with Russia and China, seeks to exacerbate divisions within US society for their own benefit, with election periods being particularly vulnerable.

According to reports, the Justice Department is preparing criminal charges in connection to these incidents. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, speaking at the Aspen Cyber Summit, emphasized Iran's significant threat to US election security this year, noting their attempts to influence the presidential campaign by creating fake personas, spreading propaganda, and leveraging conflicts such as the situation in Gaza.

As the election season progresses, it becomes increasingly crucial to remain vigilant against the various threats posed by foreign actors seeking to undermine the US democratic process.