In 2016, Donald Trump openly encouraged Russia to hack and release Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails, famously saying, “I hope you are able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.” However, the Trump campaign’s stance on hacking has shifted drastically. When the campaign announced it had been hacked by Iran over the weekend, they condemned any media outlet sharing the hacked materials as aiding America’s enemies. The campaign did not explain the change in their view on hacking.
The current situation of the hack remains unclear. Microsoft reported on Friday that Iranian hackers attempted to access the account of a presidential campaign official, without revealing further details. The Trump campaign announced the hack on Saturday after Politico was approached by an unknown source claiming to possess internal campaign documents, but did not disclose whose account was breached. Iran denies involvement in the hack, and the U.S. government has not confirmed any breach.
In 2016, Russian hackers acquired emails from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, which were released through platforms like WikiLeaks. Trump had publicly praised the publication of the hacked materials and even encouraged Russia to locate Clinton’s emails. The leaked documents received significant media coverage, with some experts suggesting that the coverage of the hacked materials played a role in Trump’s election victory.
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, criticized the media’s handling of the 2016 hacking, emphasizing the importance of news organizations maintaining integrity when dealing with such materials. Nick Merrill, spokesman for Clinton’s 2016 campaign, highlighted the Trump campaign’s hypocrisy in condemning the publication of hacked documents after previously benefiting from similar actions. Merrill refrained from passing judgment on the publication of hacked materials, suggesting a precedent has been established.
