In the aftermath of President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, an anonymous individual, identified as 'Robert,' reached out to journalists at Politico, The New York Times, and The Washington Post with a trove of private documents from inside Donald Trump's campaign operation.
Starting on July 22, Politico received emails from an AOL address containing internal communications from a senior Trump campaign official and a research dossier on Ohio Sen. JD Vance, a potential running mate for Trump. The dossier highlighted Vance's perceived vulnerabilities. Additionally, portions of a research document on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, another potential GOP ticket contender, were shared.
The New York Times and The Washington Post also confirmed receiving a similar cache of documents, including a 271-page 'privileged & confidential' document on Vance dated Feb. 23, based on publicly available information.
Despite the sensitive nature of the campaign files, the three news outlets decided against publishing any reports on the information provided by the anonymous source. The individual hinted at possessing more documents, ranging from legal and court papers to internal campaign discussions.
Politico spokesperson Brad Dayspring explained that the editorial decision not to publish was based on the newsworthiness of the documents' origins and how they were obtained, rather than the content within them.
