Alright folks, buckle up because this one is a wild ride! Let’s talk about the recent blow-up involving leftist journalist Ken Klippenstein and why it’s shaking up the internet.
Klippenstein, known for his bombshell investigations, went ahead and dropped a lengthy, hacked dossier on Ohio Senator JD Vance this past Thursday. The twist? This wasn’t just some ordinary leak—it’s suspected that the dossier might have originally been Trump campaign materials, snatched up by none other than the Iranian regime through hacking.
Yeah, you heard that right, Iranian hackers getting their hands on Trump’s campaign dirt. And they didn’t stop there; Iran reportedly shopped this info around to various journalists, outlets, and organizations, but nobody took the bait—at least, not until Klippenstein came along.
And what happens when you hit "post" on something this explosive? Enter Elon Musk.
The X (formerly Twitter) owner slammed Klippenstein with a suspension, saying the journalist crossed a line by publishing the Vance dossier. Musk didn’t mince words either, calling this “one of the most egregious, evil doxxing actions” he’d ever seen.
Musk's main point of concern? The dossier included personal details, even the addresses of Vance’s children—an obvious danger zone. Musk further argued that with two attempts already made on Trump’s life, doxxing could push things over the edge.
Ken Klippenstein just published the Iranian dossier on JD Vance, which includes his private personal details, personal phone numbers, family details and more under the guise of “journalism.”
Klippenstein doxxed JD Vance.
Publishing information from a foreign adversary that was… pic.twitter.com/Hccb8SEO8r
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) September 26, 2024
But Klippenstein didn’t back down. Over on his Substack, he made a case for why he dropped the dossier, saying it had been “offered” to him and was simply too relevant to an election season to ignore. He also denied that Iran was behind the offer, but stopped short of specifying the source. According to him, the document was a 271-page vetting report on JD Vance by Trump’s own campaign, and while he couldn’t verify if it had been altered, Klippenstein said its contents were legit enough to speak for themselves. Bold move? You bet.
But here's where it gets even murkier: Iran’s meddling in Trump’s affairs doesn’t stop at hacking. They’ve allegedly been trying to sabotage Trump’s political ambitions through even darker means, including an assassination attempt. This past July, a Pakistani man named Asif Merchant was arrested for trying to pay up to $1 million to take Trump out.
Prosecutors say Merchant, who has pleaded not guilty, had direct ties to Iran, which adds another chilling layer to the story. FBI Director Christopher Wray didn’t mince words either, calling the plot a textbook move from the Iranian regime and vowing that the FBI will go all out to protect Americans from threats like these.