JD Vance Dossier—What We Know

The alleged vetting documents of Ohio Senator JD Vance before he was chosen as the Republican vice presidential candidate have been made public after they were allegedly obtained via an Iranian hack on Donald Trump’s campaign.
Journalist Ken Klippenstein published the 271-page report into Vance which was carried out by the Trump team on his Substack on Thursday.
The Vance dossier is said to have been part of a trove of sensitive materials which Iranian hackers stole from Trump’s campaign team. At least three news organizations—Politico, The New York Times and The Washington Post—were said to have received the documents, but refused to report on them.
Klippenstein said he disagreed with the suggestion that publishing the materials allegedly obtained by Iranian hackers amounted to helping a foreign country influence the outcome of the 2024 election. The FBI previously confirmed that Iran had attempted to disrupt both the Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns.
“If the document had been hacked by some ‘anonymous’ like hacker group, the news media would be all over it,” Klippenstein wrote.
“I’m just not a believer of the news media as an arm of the government, doing its work combating foreign influence. Nor should it be a gatekeeper of what the public should know.”
Newsweek has contacted the Trump-Vance campaign for comment via email outside of regular office hours.
The report is a detailed examination of Vance’s background based on hundreds of his public statements, media interviews and available official records.
The document highlights the potential vulnerabilities Vance could face if selected as Trump’s running mate, including his previous stances and political views.
The dossier delves deep into times Vance has publicly criticized Trump over the years. Included in the document, for instance, is the transcript of an October 2016 appearance on Charlie Rose, where Vance said he was a “Never Trump guy.”
The document also cites social media posts apparently to highlight issues surrounding Vance being added to the 2024 GOP presidential ticket.
The dossier includes a reference to a tweet Vance reportedly sent in 2016 asking “what percentage of the American population has @RealDonaldTrump sexually assaulted?” The post said to be from Vance has since been deleted. Trump has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault. He has denied all the allegations against him.
The document also notes Vance’s positions on numerous issues including potentially contentious views, or what the dossier cites as “controversial” such as supporting higher taxes for people without children.
Vance’s phone number, home address, photos of his properties and email address are in the document, but have been redacted.
The senator’s military background, campaign finances, and voting history are also included in the dossier.
Klippenstein’s account on X, formerly Twitter, was suspended soon after he published the Vance dossier on his Substack.
In a statement, X said: “Ken Klippenstein was temporarily suspended for violating our rules on posting unredacted private personal information, specifically Sen. Vance’s physical addresses and the majority of his Social Security number.”
Newsweek has contacted X for further comment via email.
Users on X are prevented from sharing a link to Klippenstein’s Substack page where he posted the dossier.
In mid-September, the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said that Iran had made repeated efforts to interfere in this year’s election.
The FBI said that “malicious cyber actors” from Iran sent unsolicited emails to individuals with President Joe Biden’s campaign in late June and early July, which included nonpublic information from Trump’s campaign. Officials said there was no indication that anyone from Biden’s team responded to the emails.
Harris’ campaign team, which includes people who worked on Biden’s reelection bid, described the emails from Iran as “unwelcome and unacceptable malicious activity.”
A grand jury has indicted several Iranians for allegedly hacking Trump’s presidential campaign, Politico reported Thursday citing unnamed sources.
The Department of Justice has been contacted for comment via email.
On Tuesday, Trump’s campaign team said it had been briefed by the ODNI regarding “real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States.”
“Intelligence officials have identified that these continued and coordinated attacks have heightened in the past few months, and law enforcement officials across all agencies are working to ensure President Trump is protected and the election is free from interference,” Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign’s communications director, said in a statement.
Trump has faced two alleged assassination attempts during this campaign.
A gunman opened fire at Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, leaving the former president with minor injuries to his ear.
On September 15, he was also the target of an apparent assassination attempt at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, though no shots were fired at the former president.