As the Republican National Committee was gearing up for its convention in Milwaukee, it was also quietly dealing with a serious security breach of its internal communications by hackers with ties to the Chinese government, according to people familiar with the matter.
In early July, Microsoft reached out to top party officials to inform them that the hackers had for months had access to the RNC email system, the people said. The previously unreported breach is revealed in reporter Alex Isenstadt’s forthcoming book, “Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power.” The Wall Street Journal viewed an excerpt of the book, which will be released next month, and verified the hack.
RNC officials believed the hackers wanted inside information about how the GOP was planning to address Taiwan in its party platform, the people said. In 2016, the RNC called for a free-trade agreement with Taiwan as part of its 60-page platform. But the 2024 platform, which was released in the run-up to the convention, was whittled down to just 16 pages. There was no mention of the island.
After learning of the hack, top RNC officials and Trump campaign co-chair Chris LaCivita decided not to alert the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the breach because they were concerned the information would be leaked to the media, the people said….