Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, was reportedly informed by the bureau recently that he had been the target of Iranian hackers.
The hackers may have gained access to some of Patel’s communications during the commission of the cyberattack, CNN reported on Tuesday.
The attack targeting the incoming FBI director would mark the latest attempt by Iranian hackers to infiltrate Trump’s associates.
In September, the Justice Department brought charges against three members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for hacking Trump campaign staffers and leaking sensitive information to media outlets and the campaign of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in an effort to undermine the 45th president’s White House bid.
The US adversary’s “wide-ranging hacking campaign” employed fake online personas and targeted four Trump campaign operatives, current and former US government officials, journalists and others with phishing emails and other social engineering methods, according to the DOJ.
The hackers reportedly stole a dossier on Vice President-elect JD Vance and prep material for Trump’s first debate against Biden on June 27.
The indictment against IRGC members Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar Balaghi shows their operation began as early as January 2020, when Trump ordered the airstrike in Iraq that killed IRGC Commander Qassem Soleimani.
Patel, 44, was announced as Trump’s pick to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray at the bureau on Saturday.
The New York native and longtime Trump ally previously served as an official on the National Security Council, as a senior adviser to the acting Director of National Intelligence, and later, chief of staff to the acting United States secretary of defense — all roles he held during Trump’s first term.
Wray, whose 10-year term doesn’t expire until 2027, would need to resign or be fired for Patel to take the post, which also requires Senate confirmation.
The Trump transition team announced Tuesday that it would allow the FBI to conduct background checks on incoming administration officials.
The FBI, a spokesperson for Patel and the Trump transition team did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
