Kash Patel, US President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the FBI, was recently notified by the bureau that he was targeted in an Iranian hacking operation, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday.
According to one of the sources, hackers are believed to have gained access to at least some of Patel’s communications.
Trump transition spokesman Alex Pfeiffer did not comment directly on the hacking incident but emphasized Patel’s qualifications in a statement to CNN.
“Kash Patel was a key part of the first Trump administration’s efforts against the terrorist Iranian regime and will implement President Trump’s policies to protect America from adversaries as the FBI Director,” Pfeiffer stated.
This incident is part of a broader pattern of foreign hacking targeting members of Trump’s inner circle in recent months.
In August, the Trump campaign revealed it had been hacked, stating that Iranian operatives had stolen and disseminated sensitive internal documents.
Several media outlets — Politico, The New York Times, and The Washington Post — were given confidential materials from the campaign. None have disclosed details about the leaked documents.
Investigators believe the suspected Iranian hackers in June breached the personal email account of longtime Trump ally and political operative Roger Stone, and then used that email account to try to break into the account of a senior Trump campaign official.
Last month, noted CNN, the FBI informed Todd Blanche—one of Trump’s lead attorneys and his pick for deputy attorney general—that his cellphone had been hacked by Chinese operatives, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The Chinese government has denied any involvement in the hack.
Blanche was the second Trump attorney to be targeted by foreign hackers. In August, CNN reported that attorney Lindsey Halligan was also the victim of an Iranian hacking effort.
Donald Trump Jr. has publicly stated that the FBI informed him he was “one of the top targets” of Iran.
The Iranian government has long denied allegations that it is interfering in American elections.