Iranian hackers indicted Friday allegedly sought to impersonate Ginni Thomas as they targeted Trump campaign

Source: CNN Politics

Updated 5:28 PM EDT, Fri September 27, 2024


CNN — Ginni Thomas, a conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, was among the prominent political figures that Iranian hackers sought to impersonate as part of their efforts to target people associated with former President Donald Trump, according to court documents and law enforcement officials briefed on the matter.

US federal prosecutors on Friday unsealed criminal charges against three Iranian government-linked hackers in connection with a hacking operation aimed at Trump. The three are accused of a multi-year hacking effort aimed at current and former US officials and journalists, including the breach of the Trump campaign this summer, according to an indictment unsealed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar (Yaser) Balaghi are accused of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud for their hacking efforts on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Between June and August, the hackers used access to a Trump campaign official’s personal email account to steal “debate preparation” material and information on potential vice presidential candidates, according to the indictment.

The leak of some of that material to US media outlets was part of an Iranian effort to stoke discord during the election, the Justice Department alleged. “The defendants’ own words make clear that they were attempting to undermine former President Trump’s campaign in advance of the 2024 US presidential election,” Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters Friday.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/27/politics/iran-trump-hackers-charged/index.html