A prominent Republican voice on foreign policy accused the Biden administration of “burying” Iran’s threats against former President Trump following the hacking attack against the Trump campaign.
Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) contended that the Biden administration is sending the wrong message to Tehran.
“These plots from Iran are ongoing. And when Biden says nothing, Harris says nothing, the DOJ tries to bury it, what message does Iran get? They get that we can keep trying to take Trump out and have no consequences,” Waltz, 50, told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“They tried to hack his campaign or did hack his campaign this week. They’re trying to kill him. And we know from the intelligence community Iran doesn’t want Trump back,” he added.
On Saturday, the Trump campaign confirmed that it was a victim of a hack that Microsoft reported came from Iranian actors. Microsoft did not name the victim of the attack.
Multiple media outlets including Politico and the Washington Post claimed to have received Trump campaign material that appeared to have been part of the hack.
Information sent to those outlets included a 271-page document about Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance that appeared to be vetting material on him, based on publicly available information.
That research dossier assessed his potential vulnerabilities and was crafted by Brand Woodward, a law firm that does work for a handful of Trump advisers. Politico was also sent a package of material on Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who was rumored to be a finalist in the veepstakes.
“These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process,” campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Waltz, sits on the House Intelligence, Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees and has been rumored for a key foreign policy slot if Trump wins the 2024 election.
He underscored Iran’s alleged attempts to assassinate Trump including a recent federal complaint filed against Pakistani national Asif Merchant, 46, for plotting assassinations in New York City.
Federal court documents did not explicitly reveal that Trump was the victim of the attempted plot, but US Attorney General Merrick Garland later confirmed that was the case.
“You have multiple assassination plots from the Iranians. This Pakistani national was recruiting females as spotters. He had recruited hit men and had made a down payment. He was even recruiting protesters as a distraction,” Waltz said.
“Yet, the Department of Justice, when they unveiled the indictment, didn’t even name Trump as the target. They tried to soft-pedal it and just say, oh, it was a politician. So this wasn’t an isolated incident in Butler, Pa.”
Iran is widely believed to be in pursuit of revenge against Trump for ordering the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani back in 2020. The Trump administration alleged that Soleimani was in the process of “developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”
US officials have long alleged that Soleimani was involved in helping to disseminate improvised explosive devices that killed and severely wounded thousands of US soldiers during the Second Iraq War.
Additionally, the strike came in the context of a series of provocative moves that Iran had made in the region, including ones that Trump did not retaliate against.
Waltz argued that it’s obvious why Iran wants Trump dead.
“He held them accountable. And you overlay that with, how has Biden and Harris treated Iran? Well, Iran knows that they’re sympathizers,” he argued.
US intelligence officials have said that Iran has targeted Trump via its propaganda efforts.
Back in 2021, the director of National Intelligence declassified an assessment that Iran targeted Trump during the 2020 election cycle.
“We assess that Iran carried out a multi-pronged covert influence campaign intended to undercut former President Trump’s reelection prospects—though without directly promoting his rival,” the document read. “We assess that Supreme Leader Khamenei authorized the campaign.”
Then, last month, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence re-upped its concerns about Iranian meddling and told reporters that it hasn’t “observed a shift in Iran’s preferences” this cycle. It did not elaborate on the alleged campaign against Trump.
Tehran has publicly denied the allegations of election meddling.
“Iran does not engage in any objectives or activities intended to influence the U.S. election,” the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations told The Post earlier this month.
The Post contacted the White House for comment.
Concerns about Trump’s personal safety are amplified due to a failed attempt to assassinate him last month during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. Ultimately, suspect Mathew Thomas Crooks managed to crawl on a shed about 130 yards away from him and fire off a bullet that nicked one of Trump’s ears.
One person was killed and two others badly wounded in the attack. Authorities are still working to investigate his motivations as well as the security failures.
So far, investigators have publicly suggested this was a home-grown situation as opposed to a foreign attempt on Trump.
