National Politics

Iran behind fake emails designed to intimidate U.S. voters, officials say

FILE - In this May 5, 2020, file photo, then-Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, and now Director of National Intelligence testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Officials say Russia and Iran have obtained some voter registration data, aiming to interfere in the November election.
FILE - In this May 5, 2020, file photo, then-Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, and now Director of National Intelligence testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Officials say Russia and Iran have obtained some voter registration data, aiming to interfere in the November election.
By The Associated Press
Oct 22, 2020

U.S. officials have accused Iran of being behind a flurry of threatening but fake emails sent to Democratic voters in multiple battleground states in a late-stage efforts to sway public opinion and interfere in the presidential election.

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Purportedly from far-right, pro-Trump groups like the Proud Boys, the fake emails were apparently aimed at intimidating voters. John Ratcliffe, the government’s national intelligence director, said the aim was to hurt President Donald Trump in the contest against Democrat Joe Biden, though he did not elaborate on how.

One possibility is the messages may have been intended to align Trump in the minds of voters with the Proud Boys after he was criticized for failing to unequivocally denounce the group during the first presidential debate.

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The threatening emails officials did not lay out specific evidence for how they came to pinpoint Iran, but the activities attributed to Tehran would mark a significant escalation for a country some cybersecurity experts regard as a second-rate player in online espionage. The announcement was made late Wednesday at a hastily called news conference 13 days before the election.