According to NBC News, magician and hypnotist Paul David Carpenter was responsible for the fake Biden robocall that is now at the center of a multi-state law enforcement probe. However, he claimed that a Democratic staffer was the one who commissioned him to do it – presenting text messages, call logs and screenshots of fund transfers to back up his testimony.
Carpenter, who has multiple world records under his belt, said he was hired by Steve Kramer for the endeavor. Kramer serves as a consultant for Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who is also gunning for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. The consultant reportedly commissioned Carpenter in January to use AI to mimic Biden's voice and discourage people from voting in the New Hampshire Democratic Primary on Jan. 23 – which the incumbent president won. (Related: RFK Jr. claims he can beat Joe Biden in 2024 primary.)
"I created the audio used in the robocall, [but] I did not distribute it," Carpenter told NBC News. "I was in a situation where someone offered me some money to do something and I did it. There was no malicious intent, [and] I didn't know how it was going to be distributed."
The magician also acknowledged how it was "so scary" that he could easily produce the fake audio, which took him less than 20 minutes and cost him $1. In return, Kramer and his father paid him $150.
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Carpenter also shared the original robocall audio file, which he made using software from ElevenLabs. The New York City-based AI firm has touted its ability to create a voice clone from existing speech samples. The audio recording is currently under investigation by law enforcement, and has prompted the federal government to outlaw robocalls using AI-generated voices.
Phillips campaign denounces Kramer's actions
Phillips' campaign expressed disgust toward Kramer's actions following the revelation of Carpenter. "Such behavior is despicable, and I trust [that it] will be investigated by authorities," the Minnesota congressman said in a post on X. "The corruption in politics is pervasive, and must be exposed and addressed."
Katie Dolan, press secretary for the Phillips campaign, said: "If it is true that Kramer had any involvement in the creation of deepfake robocalls, he did so of his own volition, which had nothing to do with our campaign. The fundamental notion of our campaign is the importance of competition, choice and democracy. If the allegations are true, we absolutely denounce his actions."
Kramer, a veteran political operative, meanwhile refused to comment on Carpenter's version of events. He instead remarked that he would publish an opinion piece that would "explain all," said NBC News.
Federal Election Commission records show that Kramer was paid $259,946 by Phillips' campaign in December and January. The payments were for ballot access work in New York and Pennsylvania, which includes canvassing for the signatures necessary to qualify for the ballot. The campaign said the work included production and distribution of a robocall that featured Phillips' voice.
Phillips' campaign said its relationship with Kramer ended several weeks ago, after he completed his contract to gather signatures to help the candidate get on the ballot in his assigned states and there had been no communication with him.
The robocall has drawn intense attention from New Hampshire and federal law enforcement officials for possibly violating state voter suppression and federal telecom laws. Officials have mentioned the name of a Dallas company that was used to place the automatic phone calls to voters ahead of the state’s primary and have vowed to investigate, citing a desire to make an example of those involved in the first known example of an AI-generated deepfake being deployed maliciously in an American political campaign.
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Watch this One America News report about whether Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips will be able to beat President Joe Biden for the Democratic Party's nomination.
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