The U.S. Department of Justice has charged three Iranians as part of a hack into emails and computers used by President Donald Trump’s campaign staff and other political connections.
The Washington Post reported that Justice Department officials indicted Masoud Jalili, Seyed Ali Aghamili and Yasar Baragi in an indictment filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. According to the indictment, the three men “prepared and engaged in an extensive hacking campaign” against current and former U.S. officials, political activities, and the media.
The indictment says the “activities of Mr. Jalili, Mr. Agamiri, and Mr. Baraghi are part of Iran’s continued efforts to undermine confidence in the U.S. election process.” He also could be charged with providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
The suspects are accused of conducting targeted hacking operations in Iran over a four-year period. Their victims include current and former employees of the U.S. State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, and Iranian human rights groups.
Then, in May of last year, three hackers were able to gain access to the accounts of senior Trump campaign officials. (An attempt to infiltrate Biden campaign staff apparently failed.) President Joe Biden’s campaign staff and news outlets such as the Washington Post and Politico were able to access information from the Trump campaign from an AOL account owned by “Robert.” Received unsolicited email containing stolen materials. . It included the results of several internal polls and documents vetting President Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance.
Due to extradition laws, it is unlikely that these hackers will be brought to justice on U.S. soil.
