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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| British email prankster fools White House officials into replying | British email prankster fools White House officials into replying |
| (6 months later) | |
| Man used emails to trick Anthony Scaramucci and pose as Jared Kushner, Reince Priebus and Eric Trump | |
| Guardian staff | |
| Tue 1 Aug 2017 05.13 BST | |
| Last modified on Thu 3 Aug 2017 12.11 BST | |
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| A suspected British prankster appears to have conned White House officials including Anthony Scaramucci into replying to him after pretending in email correspondence to be several different members of the Trump team. | A suspected British prankster appears to have conned White House officials including Anthony Scaramucci into replying to him after pretending in email correspondence to be several different members of the Trump team. |
| The man, who goes by the Twitter handle @SINON_REBORN, posed as Jared Kushner well enough to convince homeland security adviser Tom Bossert to reply to him, according to CNN. Bossert included his personal email address in the exchange. | The man, who goes by the Twitter handle @SINON_REBORN, posed as Jared Kushner well enough to convince homeland security adviser Tom Bossert to reply to him, according to CNN. Bossert included his personal email address in the exchange. |
| Named director of communications after having been denied a White House role earlier, the New York financier and Republican fundraiser promptly threatened to fire everyone in his team over leaks. He also staged a combative and contradictory briefing room debut and talkshow tour; sought to bat away questions about suspiciously liberal pronouncements in his past and support for Trump’s Republican enemies; deleted tweets; warred openly with the former chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and seemingly forced him out; compared the struggle to take healthcare away from millions of Americans to Lincoln’s battle against slavery; poured obscene invective about leakers, Priebus and Steve Bannon down the phone to a New Yorker reporter; missed the birth of his son; saw his wife file for divorce; and was asked to resign. | Named director of communications after having been denied a White House role earlier, the New York financier and Republican fundraiser promptly threatened to fire everyone in his team over leaks. He also staged a combative and contradictory briefing room debut and talkshow tour; sought to bat away questions about suspiciously liberal pronouncements in his past and support for Trump’s Republican enemies; deleted tweets; warred openly with the former chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and seemingly forced him out; compared the struggle to take healthcare away from millions of Americans to Lincoln’s battle against slavery; poured obscene invective about leakers, Priebus and Steve Bannon down the phone to a New Yorker reporter; missed the birth of his son; saw his wife file for divorce; and was asked to resign. |
| Trump’s first national security adviser – one of four generals the president has employed – resigned after it was revealed he misled Vice-President Mike Pence over his contacts with Russians during the election campaign. It was later reported that Yates had warned the White House Flynn was vulnerable to Russian blackmail. | Trump’s first national security adviser – one of four generals the president has employed – resigned after it was revealed he misled Vice-President Mike Pence over his contacts with Russians during the election campaign. It was later reported that Yates had warned the White House Flynn was vulnerable to Russian blackmail. |
| The most shocking firing of them all. Trump sacked his FBI director, by messenger rather than in person, as congressional and justice department investigations into links between Trump aides and Russia gathered pace. Lest anyone retain any doubt about why Trump pressed the big red button, he told NBC in a primetime interview the firing was tied to “this Russia thing”. The reverberations will be felt for some time yet. | The most shocking firing of them all. Trump sacked his FBI director, by messenger rather than in person, as congressional and justice department investigations into links between Trump aides and Russia gathered pace. Lest anyone retain any doubt about why Trump pressed the big red button, he told NBC in a primetime interview the firing was tied to “this Russia thing”. The reverberations will be felt for some time yet. |
| The long-suffering but loyal surrogate for the president handed in his resignationin response to Scaramucci’s appointment. A Republican insider and Priebus ally, he never settled into the press secretary role after an infamous debut in which he angrily insisted Trump’s fantastic version of crowd sizes at the inauguration were true. Achieving by way of Melissa McCarthy’s lethal Saturday Night Live impression a somewhat dubious celebrity, his days at the White House were long rumoured to be numbered. His departure on a point of principle having seemingly been justified only 10 days later, he may now claim a sort of hollow vindication. | The long-suffering but loyal surrogate for the president handed in his resignationin response to Scaramucci’s appointment. A Republican insider and Priebus ally, he never settled into the press secretary role after an infamous debut in which he angrily insisted Trump’s fantastic version of crowd sizes at the inauguration were true. Achieving by way of Melissa McCarthy’s lethal Saturday Night Live impression a somewhat dubious celebrity, his days at the White House were long rumoured to be numbered. His departure on a point of principle having seemingly been justified only 10 days later, he may now claim a sort of hollow vindication. |
| The former Republican National Committee chair stayed loyal – at least in public – to Trump through Friday, when he was told his time was up. He stayed loyal after handing in his resignation too, rhapsodising about the president and his mission in interviews with CNN and, of course, Fox News. But it seemed Priebus’s card had alway been marked, less over his initial blocking of Scaramucci, which enraged the Mooch, or by his closeness to the House speaker, Paul Ryan, than by his private advice to Trump to quit the presidential race after 8 October, when the infamous Access Hollywood “Gropegate” tape was published. The Washington Post reported that Priebus was thus never considered a member of the “Oct 8th coalition”, a name for the inner cabal of Trumpites who have never wavered, however low their boss’s reputation has sunk. | The former Republican National Committee chair stayed loyal – at least in public – to Trump through Friday, when he was told his time was up. He stayed loyal after handing in his resignation too, rhapsodising about the president and his mission in interviews with CNN and, of course, Fox News. But it seemed Priebus’s card had alway been marked, less over his initial blocking of Scaramucci, which enraged the Mooch, or by his closeness to the House speaker, Paul Ryan, than by his private advice to Trump to quit the presidential race after 8 October, when the infamous Access Hollywood “Gropegate” tape was published. The Washington Post reported that Priebus was thus never considered a member of the “Oct 8th coalition”, a name for the inner cabal of Trumpites who have never wavered, however low their boss’s reputation has sunk. |
| The man also fooled Scaramucci, the White House communications director who was fired on Monday, by pretending to be Reince Priebus, the former Trump administration chief of staff with whom he was believed to be in open warfare. | The man also fooled Scaramucci, the White House communications director who was fired on Monday, by pretending to be Reince Priebus, the former Trump administration chief of staff with whom he was believed to be in open warfare. |
| In a series of emails, the man posing as Priebus baited Scaramucci, accusing him of being “breathtakingly hypocritical” and saying “at no stage have you acted in a way that is remotely classy”. | In a series of emails, the man posing as Priebus baited Scaramucci, accusing him of being “breathtakingly hypocritical” and saying “at no stage have you acted in a way that is remotely classy”. |
| Scaramucci responded: “You know what you did. We all do. Even today. But rest assured we were prepared. A Man would apologize.” | Scaramucci responded: “You know what you did. We all do. Even today. But rest assured we were prepared. A Man would apologize.” |
| The heated exchange continued, with the prankster writing: “I can’t believe you are questioning my ethics! The so called ‘Mooch’, who can’t even manage his first week in the White House without leaving upset in his wake. I have nothing to apologize for.” | The heated exchange continued, with the prankster writing: “I can’t believe you are questioning my ethics! The so called ‘Mooch’, who can’t even manage his first week in the White House without leaving upset in his wake. I have nothing to apologize for.” |
| Scaramucci replied: “Read Shakespeare. Particularly Othello. You are right there. My family is fine by the way and will thrive. I know what you did. No more replies from me.” | Scaramucci replied: “Read Shakespeare. Particularly Othello. You are right there. My family is fine by the way and will thrive. I know what you did. No more replies from me.” |
| The White House has confirmed it is looking into the matter. “We take all cyber related issues very seriously and are looking into these incidents further,” press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told CNN. | The White House has confirmed it is looking into the matter. “We take all cyber related issues very seriously and are looking into these incidents further,” press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told CNN. |
| Reince (me) giving @Scaramucci something to think about. He never replied haha pic.twitter.com/hutjACmogR | Reince (me) giving @Scaramucci something to think about. He never replied haha pic.twitter.com/hutjACmogR |
| An excerpt of what I emailed to @Scaramucci whilst playing the part of Jon Huntsman Jr. Apparently this didn't seem out of the ordinary?! 😂🤡 pic.twitter.com/6INHJi3KCD | An excerpt of what I emailed to @Scaramucci whilst playing the part of Jon Huntsman Jr. Apparently this didn't seem out of the ordinary?! 😂🤡 pic.twitter.com/6INHJi3KCD |
| The man, who described himself as a “lazy anarchist” on his Twitter profile, told CNN that his actions were meant to be “humorous” not malicious. | The man, who described himself as a “lazy anarchist” on his Twitter profile, told CNN that his actions were meant to be “humorous” not malicious. |
| “I’m not trying to get the keys to the vault or anything like that.” | “I’m not trying to get the keys to the vault or anything like that.” |
| He has previously convinced Scaramucci that he was the ambassador to Russia-designate Jon Hunstman and tricked Hunstman himself into believing he was the president’s son Eric Trump. He also fleetingly convinced Eric Trump he was his brother, Donald Jr. | He has previously convinced Scaramucci that he was the ambassador to Russia-designate Jon Hunstman and tricked Hunstman himself into believing he was the president’s son Eric Trump. He also fleetingly convinced Eric Trump he was his brother, Donald Jr. |
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