NH uncovers culprit behind bogus Biden robocalls urging voters to ‘save your vote for the November election’
The alleged culprit behind the deep fake robocalls of a bogus President Biden telling New Hampshire Democrats to stay home on primary day was identified by Granite State authorities on Tuesday.
The fake calls were traced back to the Texas-based Life Corporation and New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said his office will open a criminal investigation into the hoax.
Formella said that Life Corporation does telecom marketing and is under the ownership of a man named Walter Monk.
“We were able to trace the journey of a select group of these phone calls through the telecom system,” Formella said at a press conference in Concord.
“We will continue our work to identify and hold all individuals or companies who may be responsible for these acts accountable.”
He did not divulge any potential motive behind the robocalls. His office is seeking additional information from “entities who are not necessarily responsible for the calls” that may have “pertinent information.”
Roughly 5,000 to 25,000 Granite State voters are believed to have received fake calls before the Jan. 23 primary contest.
Some 125,000 voters ultimately participated in the Democratic primary, where Biden won handily despite mounting a write-in campaign.
“Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again. Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday,” an AI version of Biden was reportedly heard saying in the fake calls.
Those bogus robocalls came amidst Democratic turbulence over the New Hampshire primary. The national party decided to move its first in-the-nation contest to South Carolina, but Granite State Democrats ignored that in compliance with state law.
As a result, the Democratic National Committee is not expected to allocate delegates in New Hampshire. Biden wanted to win in the Granite State to stave off embarrassment as an incumbent.
Both Formella’s team and the Federal Communications Commission transmitted a cease and desist letter to Life Corporation, telling the firm to halt “any further conduct” that could be considered illegal.
“Further enforcement action from the FCC remains on the table pending investigation,” he added. “New Hampshire will be a co-lead in any civil action that’s taken in addition to any criminal action that we may take.”
The Post left a message at the Life Corporation seeking comment.
Formella also indicated that his office is looking into Texas-based Lingo Telecom, but did not release further details.
“Our message is clear. Law enforcement across the country is unified on a bi-partisan basis and ready to work together to combat any attempt to undermine our elections,” Formella warned.
“We will not tolerate any action that seeks to undermine the integrity of our elections in our democratic process. The message to any person or company who would attempt to engage in these activities is clear and it’s simple: don’t try it.”
