The personal email accounts of Roger Stone, longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, were reportedly targeted in a foreign cyberattack on Trump’s campaign, according to media reports.
The FBI confirmed in a brief statement on Monday that it was investigating allegations that sensitive documents were stolen from Trump’s campaign, which said on Saturday that it had been hacked and accused Iranian military intelligence in the breach.
“We can confirm the FBI is investigating this matter,” the bureau told the Associated Press (AP).
Trump’s campaign said in its statement over the weekend that the attack was “a spear-phishing email to a high-ranking official of a presidential campaign from a compromised email account of a former senior advisor.” The former president’s team did not provide evidence, although Microsoft released a report on Thursday detailing that “significant influence activity by Iranian actors” had picked up in recent months in an attempt to interfere in the U.S. presidential election.
On Monday, The Washington Post said that Stone, a former GOP political consultant, had been informed by investigators that his personal email accounts had been “compromised.”
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“I really don’t know more about it. And I’m cooperating,” Stone told the Post. “It’s all very strange.”
Stone worked as a consultant for Trump’s campaign in 2016. A few years into the former president’s first term, Stone was convicted of seven felony counts—five for lying to Congress and one apiece for witness tampering and obstructing a congressional committee that investigated Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election. Stone was pardoned by Trump in 2020.
CNN also reported that Stone’s personal email accounts were targeted in the cyberattack, citing multiple sources.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s campaign via email for further comment on Monday.
Politico reported over the weekend that it had received emails from an anonymous AOL email account only identified as “Robert” with internal campaign documents regarding the vetting process of Ohio Senator JD Vance, who was chosen to be Trump’s running mate last month.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement on Saturday that documents were “obtained illegally” and that they “intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations denied the accusations from Trump’s campaign when asked by AP, saying, “We do not accord any credence to such reports. The Iranian government neither possesses nor harbors any intent or motive to interfere in the United States presidential election.”
A person familiar with the matter also told AP that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign was also targeted in the cyberattack and that this breach is also under investigation by the FBI. A spokesperson for Harris’ presidential campaign told AP, “Our campaign vigilantly monitors and protects against cyber threats, and we are not aware of any security breaches of our systems.”
Newsweek on Monday also emailed the national FBI press office for further information.
