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New Hampshire
Magician says political consultant hired him to create AI Biden robocall ahead of New Hampshire primary
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Orleans magician said Friday that a Democratic consultant who worked for Dean Phillips’ presidential campaign hired him to create the audio for what authorities have said may be the first known attempt to use artificial intelligence to interfere with a U.S. election.
Paul Carpenter told The Associated Press he was hired by Steve Kramer to use AI to mimic President Joe Biden’s voice for the robocalls, which sought to discourage people from voting in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary last month.
New Hampshire authorities have said the recorded message, sent to thousands of voters two days before the Jan. 23 election, violated the state’s voter suppression laws. They have issued cease-and-desist orders to two Texas companies they believe were involved. The connection to the Louisiana magician was first reported by NBC News.
A spokesperson for Attorney General John Formella declined to comment Friday on whether investigators are looking into Carpenter or Kramer, saying only that the investigation continues.
WATCH: The potentially dangerous implications of an AI tool creating extremely realistic video
The Phillips’ campaign denounced the calls and Kramer’s alleged actions, saying the $260,000 it paid him in December and January was for help getting on the ballot in New York and Pennsylvania.
“If it is true that Mr. 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,” spokeswoman Katie Dolan said in an emailed statement. “The fundamental notion of our campaign is the importance of competition, choice, and democracy. We are disgusted to learn that Mr. Kramer is allegedly behind this call, and if the allegations are true, we absolutely denounce his actions.”
Reached by text, Kramer referred questions Friday to political consultant Hank Sheinkopf, who did not immediately respond to an email message.
Liz Purdy, a senior adviser for the Biden-Harris campaign in New Hampshire, said it supports efforts to hold accountable anyone who attempts to disrupt elections and remains “hypervigilant” to disinformation threats.
In the phone interview with the AP, Carpenter said he met Kramer through a mutual acquaintance and that they were staying at the same New Orleans house when they discussed the use of AI to create audio.
Carpenter, a street magician who told NBC that he holds world records in fork-bending and straitjacket escapes, said he has been involved in making social media content for about 20 years. Screenshots he shared with NBC News and the AP include a text Kramer sent him three days before the primary saying he had emailed Carpenter a script. Venmo transactions show an account with the same name as Kramer’s father paid Carpenter $150 on Jan. 20, three days before the primary.
READ MORE: FCC bans AI-generated voices in robocalls that can deceive voters
Two days later, when news of the fake Biden robocall broke, the texts provided by Carpenter show Kramer texting him a link to a story and the message, “Shhhhhhh.”
Carpenter said when he made the audio, he thought Kramer was working for the Biden campaign. He told the AP he has an attorney and is considering legal action against Kramer.
“I didn’t know anything about him working on the other presidential campaign,” he said.
Carpenter, who said he has no permanent address and divides his time between New Orleans and Houston, told NBC News that Kramer instructed him to delete the Biden script and other emails and that he complied.
The recorded robocall was sent to between 5,000 and 25,000 voters. It used a voice similar to Biden’s, employed his often-used phrase, “What a bunch of malarkey” and falsely suggested that voting in the primary would preclude voters from casting a ballot in November’s general election.
Biden won the Democratic primary as a write-in candidate after he kept his name off the ballot in deference to South Carolina’s new lead-off position for the Democratic primaries.
The calls falsely showed up to recipients as coming from the personal cellphone number of Kathy Sullivan, a former state Democratic Party chair who helps run Granite for America, a super PAC that supported the Biden write-in campaign.
Sullivan said in an email Friday that she had not heard of Kramer until she read the NBC story, and has received “no apology from Dean Phillips for his highly paid consultant spoofing my number.”
McGill reported from New Orleans.
Crime
Elijah Allman’s arrest on March 1 was his second in New Hampshire in a matter of days.
A court hearing for Cher’s son Wednesday over allegations he broke into a New Hampshire home this month has been canceled.
Elijah Allman’s arrest on March 1 was his second in New Hampshire in a matter of days. Allman, the 49-year-old son of the iconic singer and actress, was also detained Feb. 27, accused of acting belligerently at a prestigious prep school in Concord.
It is unclear if Allman, of Malibu, California, has any connection to the home in Windham, New Hampshire. He is being held in the Rockingham County Department of Corrections, Superintendent Jonathan Banville said.
The hearing Wednesday was continued until an undetermined date after Allman got an attorney Wednesday morning. The attorney, Sarah Landres, did not respond to a request for comment.
Allman, whose father was the late singer Gregg Allman, is charged with two counts of criminal mischief, one count of burglary and a count of breach of bail for breaking into the home on March 1. Police said in a report that Allman did not have permission to be at the home and forcibly entered it.
Officials at St. Paul’s School said Allman last month identified himself as the parent of a prospective student and slipped into the dining hall as some students were leaving the building. Police responded to reports that he was disturbing people in the building.
He was charged with four misdemeanors in the school incident: two counts of simple assault, criminal trespass and criminal threatening. Allman was also charged with a violation of disorderly conduct, which is illegal in the state but not considered a crime. He was released on bail.
Allman did not respond to an email requesting comment, and a phone number for him was not working.
In December 2023, Cher filed a petition to become a temporary conservator overseeing her son’s money, saying Allman’s struggles with his mental health and addiction have left him unable to manage his assets and potentially put his life in danger.
The petition says the superstar performer’s son is entitled to regular payments from a trust fund. But “given his ongoing mental health and substance abuse issues,” she is “concerned that any funds distributed to Elijah will be immediately spent on drugs, leaving Elijah with no assets to provide for himself and putting Elijah’s life at risk,” the petition says.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jessica Uzcategui denied the request, saying she was not convinced that a conservatorship was urgently needed. Allman was in the courtroom with his attorneys, who acknowledged his previous struggles but argued that he was in a good place, was attending meetings, getting treatment and reconciling with his estranged wife.
The son of Cher is scheduled to be in court Wednesday for a hearing over allegations he broke into a New Hampshire home earlier this month.
It was the second arrest in a matter of days for Elijah Allman, 49, of Malibu, California, who was detained Feb. 27 after allegedly acting belligerently at a prestigious prep school in New Hampshire. It was unclear if Allman had any connection to either St. Paul’s School or the home in Windham, New Hampshire.
Allman remains in the Rockingham County Department of Corrections in what is called preventive detention, Superintendent Jonathan Banville said.
Allman, whose father was the late singer Gregg Allman, faces two counts of criminal mischief, one count of burglary and a count of breach of bail for breaking into the home on March 1. Police said in a report that Allman did not have permission to be at the home and forcibly entered it .
In the incident at the prep school, Allman was charged with four misdemeanors: two counts of simple assault, criminal trespass and criminal threatening. Allman was also charged with a violation of disorderly conduct, which is illegal in the state but not considered a crime.
At about 7 p.m. that day, Concord police responded to reports that Allman was disturbing people in the dining hall of St. Paul’s School. After charging Allman, police said he was released on bail as his case works through the court system.
Allman did not respond to an email requesting comment, and a phone number for him was not working. It was unclear from the court records if Allman has an attorney.
In December 2023, Cher filed a petition to become a temporary conservator overseeing her son’s money, saying Allman struggles with mental health issues and addiction have left him unable to manage his assets and potentially put his life in danger.
The petition from the singer and actress said Elijah Allman is entitled to regular payments from a trust fund. But “given his ongoing mental health and substance abuse issues,” she is “concerned that any funds distributed to Elijah will be immediately spent on drugs, leaving Elijah with no assets to provide for himself and putting Elijah’s life at risk,” the petition says.
A few weeks later, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jessica Uzcategui denied the request, saying she was not convinced that a conservatorship was urgently needed. Allman was in the courtroom with his his attorneys, who acknowledged his previous struggles but argued that he is in a good place now, attending meetings, getting treatment and reconciling with his previously estranged wife.
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