Iran behind Trump campaign hack, FBI says
The FBI and other federal agencies believe that Iran was responsible for the cyber attack on former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
Fox – 32 Chicago
WASHINGTON − Iran has made it “clear” that it is trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump, as well as members of his administration – and the current Biden administration – as payback for the killing of an Iranian general and other hardline policies, U.S. officials and lawmakers said Wednesday.
The comments came after Trump’s dramatic disclosure Tuesday night that he had been briefed earlier in the day by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence about Tehran’s “real and specific threats” against him.
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., a member of the Senate intelligence committee, said he has not seen “any indication” that Iran had anything to do with the two alleged assassination plots against Trump, including one that injured him at a Pennsylvania campaign rally in July.
“But I think there is also clear evidence out there that Iran has made it clear that they intend to − if they could, they would try to assassinate the former president,” Rounds said. “And they’ve talked about assassinating other senior members in leadership.”
Sean Savett, a spokesman at the National Security Council, also confirmed the Iranian threat in a statement.
“As we have said many times, we have been tracking Iranian threats against former President Trump and former Trump administration officials for years, dating back to the last administration,” Savett said. “These threats arise from Iran’s desire to seek revenge for the killing of Qasem Soleimani,” the Iranian general slain in a military strike ordered by then-President Trump in January 2020.
“We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority,” Savett said, “and we strongly condemn Iran for these brazen threats.”
In the past, Iran has denied trying to assassinate U.S. officials, but the Justice Department has launched numerous investigations and prosecutions into such efforts.
Trump himself acknowledged the threat Wednesday in a post on X that garnered 19.9 million views by noon.
“Big threats on my life by Iran. The entire U.S. Military is watching and waiting. Moves were already made by Iran that didn’t work out, but they will try again,” Trump wrote. “Not a good situation for anyone. I am surrounded by more men, guns, and weapons than I have ever seen before.”
In his post, Trump thanked Congress “for unanimously approving far more money to Secret Service” for his protective detail. “Nice to see Republicans and Democrats get together on something,” he wrote. “An attack on a former President is a Death Wish for the attacker!”
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the ranking Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, also shared Wednesday on X “The Iranian threat against @realDonaldTrump is now THE most serious plot by a foreign power against an American leader EVER”
The U.S. intelligence comes six weeks after the Justice Department charged a Pakistani national with ties to Iran with murder-for-hire as part of an alleged plot to assassinate a U.S. politician or government official, potentially in response to the Trump administration’s 2020 killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
A spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI, acknowledged the briefing on Tuesday night but declined to address any specifics. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung gave USA TODAY a statement offering few details.
Contributing: David Jackson, Francesca Chambers
Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/09/25/iran-trump-assassination-plans/75380196007/
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Publish date : 2024-09-25 07:54:00
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