Latest news with #fakeletter
Gizmodo
23-07-2025
- Business
- Gizmodo
MAGA Senator Mike Lee Falls for Fake Letter That Appears to Be Generated by AI
Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, posted an extremely excited tweet on Tuesday about Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and a letter announcing his resignation. The only problem? The letter was fake, something that's previously been a big problem for Lee. 'Powell's out!' Lee declared in the since-deleted tweet captured by writer Ben Jacobs in a screenshot. The letter shared by Lee says that 'new leadership' was needed to carry on the important work of the Fed, so Powell will be stepping down. 'After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, effective at the close of business today, July 22, 2025,' the fake letter reads. The letter contains typos and formatting errors, including a random comma followed by a capitalized letter as though the idea was to start a new sentence. President Donald Trump will often capitalize random words for no reason, but that's not typical of educated people like Jerome Powell. The word 'institution's' is also split onto two lines in a way that no normal word processor would attempt. On top of everything, the letter includes a large watermark that features garbled text, a likely sign that it was generated by AI. Lee seems to have picked up the letter from one of countless accounts on X that were sharing the fake news, though it's not clear where he got it exactly. When news breaks, people on X often rush to post letters without giving any indication of where they found them. And that was clearly the case here. The big difference between Lee and the fake news peddlers who try to go viral on X is that Lee is a sitting senator, which makes him one of the 100 most powerful people in the country. But Lee wasn't the only relatively prominent person to fall for the fake tweet. Benny Johnson, another far-right influencer, also shared a screenshot of the letter. But what makes Tuesday's mistake particularly funny is that Lee has a history of falling for fake news on X, especially since billionaire Elon Musk bought the platform. Last year, Lee fell for a letter that appeared in a tweet claiming that President Jimmy Carter had died. In fact, that hoax was July 23, 2024, almost to the day that Lee fell for it again. The Jimmy Carter hoax was even more ridiculous than the Powell resignation hoax, with the Carter letter referring to former First Lady Nancy Reagan by the sexually crude term, 'throat goat.' It also referred to Rosalynn Carter as 'the original Brat.' President Carter really did die many months later on Dec. 29, 2024. Why is Lee such an easy mark for fake tweets? That part isn't clear. The dude went to law school and is supposed to be a smart guy, at least on paper.
Daily Mail
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Republican lawmaker mocked after brutally falling for a 'fake' Jerome Powell resignation letter
A Utah Republican is being raked over the coals for sharing a fake resignation letter, made out to be from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. GOP Senator Mike Lee shared the fake letter in a post on X with the caption 'Powell's Out!', before he realized his mistake and deleted it. The letter contained several obvious signs of being fake, including a seal that appears to be AI generated. It was also addressed to 'The President, The White House, Washington DC,' and had several oddly placed hyphens in the middle of words. Lee admitted his error to The Hill, stating that 'There appeared to be one, and it occurred to me seconds after I posted it that I hadn't seen it anywhere else, so I deleted it out of an abundance of caution. I don't know whether it's legit or not.' Still, that momentary lapse in judgement drew the ire of social media users who took no pity on Lee. Tim Miller, former communications directors for Jeb Bush 's Presidential campaign and now a writer for the Bulwark mocked Lee, replying on X that the post was deleted out of 'an abundance of caution!' X user John Lindsey, wrote 'Bahahaha, he saw one completely fabricated letter and posted it, even though he hadn't seen it anywhere else. Can we please dump these low iq morons. It's such an embarrassment to the country and the state of Utah.' Another X user who posts under the handle @dmgtexas was much more direct in his approach, adding 'He's so hyper online, his brain is mush.' Senator Mike Lee's tweet sharing the fake resignation letter. The tweet was deleted shortly after it was posted. Lee has circulated falsities online before, including spreading a Russian propaganda video about Ukrainian soldiers, and sharing a fake statement about the death of former President Jimmy Carter. This isn't the first time in recent weeks that Capitol Hill Republicans have made a spectacle of fake resignation letters for longtime government bureaucrats. Freshman GOP class president Brandon Gill wrote up his own fake letter which he made seem to have been written by NPR CEO Katherine Maher, amid Republican attempts to get her resign her post. . @krmaher, I went ahead and wrote your letter of resignation for you—all you have to do is sign it. — Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) July 18, 2025 Gill told Maher that all she had to do was sign the letter. Republicans on Capitol Hill voted in favor of $9 billion in cuts to public media funding last week. Impacted organizations include NPR, PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Sky News
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Trump sues Wall Street Journal owner Rupert Murdoch and two reporters after Epstein letter report
Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch, two Wall Street Journal reporters and the publication's owner, News Corp. The US president has raised claims under federal libel law, court records show. The case was filed in Miami. Mr Trump earlier claimed a letter he allegedly wrote to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was "fake" and said he would sue the "ass off" Rupert Murdoch, who owns the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The publication had said Mr Trump wrote the letter as part of a collection Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, planned to give him as a 50th birthday present in 2003. It claimed the message, allegedly from Mr Trump, featured several lines of typewritten text, concluding with: "May every day be another wonderful secret." The text was framed by what appeared to be a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman, the WSJ claimed. The letter is also said to have featured the signature "Donald". Mr Trump immediately denied writing the letter when the WSJ report was published on Thursday night. 2:28 "The Wall Street Journal printed a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein," he wrote on Truth Social. "These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures. I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn't print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I'm going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper." Mr Trump ignored questions about Epstein as he signed a cryptocurrency bill at the White House earlier on Friday. The president's lawsuit comes as the US government filed a motion to unseal grand jury transcripts related to Epstein, who took his own life while awaiting trial in 2019. In a Manhattan federal court filing, the Department of Justice said the criminal cases against Epstein and Maxwell are a matter of public interest, justifying the release of associated grand jury transcripts. Earlier on Friday, Mr Trump said attorney general Pam Bondi had been asked to release the transcripts because of "the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein". The justice department previously said it had around 200 documents relating to Epstein and that the FBI had thousands more. It is unknown how much of this is grand jury testimony, which is typically kept secret under US law. The president has faced increased scrutiny over his alleged friendship with Epstein since his administration's U-turn on the so-called 'Epstein files'. Mr Trump pledged to release files on Epstein during his presidential campaign, as his MAGA movement accused the Biden administration of suppressing the extent of Epstein's paedophilia, predatory behaviour and his so-called "client list" - thought to contain names of the rich and famous who conspired with him in his child sex trafficking operation. But after a review of the evidence the US government has, the Justice Department recently determined that no "further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted". Venezuela releases jailed Americans in prisoner swap The Trump administration said on Friday that it had negotiated an exchange with Venezuela, resulting in the release of 10 jailed Americans. US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the prisoners, who had been held in the South American country, were "on their way to freedom". In return, 252 Venezuelan migrants being held in El Salvador have been freed, the Venezuelan government said.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Donald Trump files libel lawsuit over Wall Street Journal's Jeffrey Epstein 'birthday card' claim
Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch, two Wall Street Journal reporters and the publication's owner, News Corp. The US president has raised claims under federal libel law, court records show. The case was filed in Miami. earlier claimed a letter he allegedly wrote to paedophile was "fake" and the "ass off" Rupert Murdoch, who owns the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The publication had said Mr Trump wrote the letter as part of a collection Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, planned to give him as a 50th birthday present in 2003. It claimed the message allegedly from Mr Trump featured several lines of typewritten text, concluding with: "May every day be another wonderful secret." The text was framed by what appeared to be a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman, the WSJ claimed. The letter is also said to have featured the signature "Donald". Mr Trump immediately denied writing the letter when the WSJ report was published on Thursday night. "The Wall Street Journal printed a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein," he wrote on Truth Social. "These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures. I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn't print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I'm going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper." Mr Trump ignored questions about Epstein as he signed a cryptocurrency bill at the White House earlier on Friday. The president's lawsuit comes as the US government filed a motion to unseal grand jury transcripts related to Epstein, who took his own life while awaiting trial in 2019. In a Manhattan federal court filing, the Department of Justice said the criminal cases against Epstein and Maxwell are a matter of public interest, justifying the release of associated grand jury transcripts. Earlier on Friday, Mr Trump said attorney general Pam Bondi had been asked to release the transcripts because of "the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein". The justice department previously said it had around 200 documents relating to Epstein and that the FBI had thousands more. It is unknown how much of this is grand jury testimony - which is typically kept secret under US law. Read more: The president has faced increased scrutiny over his alleged friendship with Epstein since his administration's U-turn on the so-called 'Epstein files'. While running for his second White House term, Mr Trump fuelled the idea there was a "client list" of powerful people had threatened to blackmail and vowed to unseal documents relating to Epstein if he returned to the Oval Office. But after a review of evidence the US government is in possession of, the Justice Department recently determined that no "further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted". This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the latest version. You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
Sky News
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Donald Trump files libel lawsuit over Wall Street Journal's Jeffrey Epstein 'birthday card' claim
Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch, two Wall Street Journal reporters and the publication's owner, News Corp. The US president has raised claims under federal libel law, court records show. The case was filed in Miami. Mr Trump earlier claimed a letter he allegedly wrote to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was "fake" and said he would sue the "ass off" Rupert Murdoch, who owns the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The publication had said Mr Trump wrote the letter as part of a collection Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, planned to give him as a birthday present in 2003. Please refresh the page for the latest version.
