Dean Phillips campaign denounces ex-consultant’s alleged involvement in fake Biden robocall

The presidential campaign of Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) is denouncing one of its former consultants’ alleged involvement in the fake robocalls of President Biden that were made to New Hampshire voters last month. 

The Phillips campaign said Steve Kramer served as a consultant to help the campaign collect signatures in Pennsylvania and New York.

He is named in an NBC News report on Friday as having allegedly hired a magician named Paul Carpenter to create the artificial intelligence-generated robocalls that depicted Biden’s voice ahead of the New Hampshire primary. 

The NBC news story cited text messages, call logs and Venmo transactions.

If the allegations are true, Kramer acted “of his own volition” and his actions “had nothing to do with our campaign,” the Phillips campaign said in a statement.  

“The fundamental notion of our campaign is the importance of competition, choice, and democracy,” it said. “We are disgusted to learn that Mr. Kramer is allegedly behind this call, and if the allegations are true, we absolutely denounce his actions.” 

In the calls, Biden’s voice was heard telling voters to “save your vote” for the November election instead of the Jan. 23 primary and that voting in the primary would only enable Republicans trying to elect former President Trump back to the White House again. 

The New Hampshire attorney general’s office said following the calls that it was investigating. 

Carpenter told NBC in an interview that he created the audio used in the robocall but did not distribute it. He said he did not know any details in advance about how the audio would be used. 

“I was in a situation where someone offered me some money to do something, and I did it. There was no malicious intent,” he told the outlet. “I didn’t know how it was going to be distributed.” 

He said he decided to come forward about his role in the plan because he regrets taking part and wants to make the public more aware of how AI can be used to trick people. He said he created the audio in less than 20 minutes, and it only cost $1 to produce. 

Carpenter said he was paid $150 to create the audio.

Kramer told NBC he would publish an opinion piece responding to the allegations Saturday, saying it “will explain all.” 

NBC reported Kramer is an experienced political consultant who has worked on many campaigns for decades, including the one that rapper Ye, better known as Kanye West, ran in 2020. 

NBC reported the campaign also said it might take legal action if the allegations are true. 

Campaign finance records from the Federal Election Commission show the campaign paid Kramer nearly $260,000 for his services to help get Phillips on the ballot. 

New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella (R) said earlier this month that his office’s investigation revealed that the robocalls could be traced back to a Texas-based firm that was the source of the calls. 

Experts warned following the robocalls last month that they were only the beginning of what could be done with AI to try to influence elections, with one calling it “the tip of the iceberg” of the potential for voter suppression or attacks against election workers. 

The Federal Communications Commission banned AI-generated voices in robocalls in response earlier this month, giving the agency the authority to issue fines to those who distribute robocalls and block calls from telephone carriers that facilitate the illegal calls. 

Phillips is running against Biden for the Democratic nomination but has struggled to make inroads so far, with Biden having easily won the first few contests.