An “email prankster” managed to dupe top editors at Brietbart News into believing he was Steven Bannon, the website’s chairman and former White House strategist, and got them to pledge to do “dirty work” against his former West Wingers, including Ivanka Trump, according to a report on Tuesday.
Breitbart editor-in-chief Alex Marlow exchanged emails with the bogus Bannon who got him to say that he and other top editors would oust President Trump’s daughter and son-in-law Jared Kushner “by end of year,” CNN Money reported.The sham email swaps started with a message from an account masquerading as Bannon’s.
“Reading online about how i’ll be bringing forth my wrath on Ivanka and Jared,” said an email sent Sunday to Marlow. “I’d be doing this great nation a service if I did.”
Marlow replied: “I spooked em today. Did five stories on globalist takeover positioning you as only hope to stop it,” CNN Money reported, saying it had the emails.
The deceptive Bannon then emailed Marlow a link to a Breitbart post from Sunday based on a Daily Mail report that suggested Ivanka Trump used her influence to get Bannon banished from the White House.
“That was a fun read,” the bogus Bannon account said.
Marlow followed that up with an unfounded and unsubstantiated smear about Ivanka and her husband.
“Haha.. lovely stuff,” the prankster replied. “So do you think you’ll have them packed and shipping out before Christmas?”
“Let me see what I can do … hard to know given your description of them as evil,” Marlow wrote back. “I don’t know what motivates them. If they are semi normal, then yes, they out by end of year.”
Marlow admitted to CNN that he was conned, but remained defiant.
“The obsession with Breitbart News is simply a result of our effectiveness. This time, an imposter deceitfully obtained and shared with CNN tongue-in-cheek emails that revealed that we feel Globalists present an existential threat to the agenda that got President Trump elected.” Marlow said. “If people want to know our thinking, they don’t need to judge us on illicitly obtained comments that were intended to be private, they can simply read our front page.”
Bannon was fired Friday and immediately returned to run Breitbart.