FBI Investigates Hacking and Impersonation of White House Chief of Staff

A federal investigation is ongoing into alleged attempts to impersonate Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff. 

The Details: The impersonator reportedly used texts and phone calls to contact a list of influential Republican figures, including senators, governors, and top US business executives, pretending to be Wiles. Some reported a voice on the phone that sounded like Wiles, and one legislator reportedly received a request to curate a list of people to be pardoned by the president. Some of the figures were skeptical of the messages and contacted the White House for verification, which is how the administration became aware of the impersonation efforts. Wiles said she suspected that her personal phone and contact list was hacked. The FBI said it does not suspect foreign government involvement at this time. 

For Context: The FBI issued warning earlier this month regarding hackers using AI-generated voice messages to impersonate senior US officials in an attempt to gain access to online accounts. The FBI emphasized that these impersonations could lead to other government officials or their associates being targeted. Last year, Iranian operatives hacked into Wiles' email, gaining access to a dossier on Vice President JD Vance. 

How The Media Covered It: CNN (Lean Left bias) described Wiles as “widely credited with running what was seen as Trump’s most sophisticated and disciplined campaign, which included keeping many of the fringe voices in his orbit at bay.” Coverage was otherwise similar across the political spectrum. 

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