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How an online 'Lego' gamer infiltrated the White House press corps
Hat tip, Media Confidential, which doesn't sound like something I'd want to rely on. Politico, I can handle.
Monday, April 12, 2021
Imposter 'Crashes' Pressers At TWH
Imposter 'Crashes' Pressers At TWH
WHITE HOUSE
How an online ‘Lego’ gamer infiltrated the White House press corps
"Kacey Montagu" posed as a reporter for the fictitious WHN and managed to fool real correspondents — and even the new Biden administration.
By CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO
04/09/2021 07:15 PM EDT
Four times in recent weeks, members of the White House press corps have relayed questions to press secretary Jen Psaki from someone claiming to be a fellow reporter who was not able to be there in the room due to Covid protocols. ... That colleague, who goes by the name Kacey Montagu, doesn’t exist — at least not as an actual reporter.
Since late last year, Montagu has taken on the identity of a White House correspondent extraordinaire with a fictional outlet to boot: White House News, shortened in emails to WHN.
Montagu started two real-life Twitter handles, which are followed by some top White House officials and journalists. Montagu has filed Freedom of Information Act requests and obtained Psaki’s personal financial disclosure form, along with the disclosure of at least one other official, the president’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
In communications with confidants, Montagu has posed as a member of White House Correspondents Association, claiming to be a reporter for The Daily Mail, the British tabloid known for its gossipy coverage of celebrities and political figures. Montagu also communicates regularly with top White House reporters and has had several exchanges with White House officials. ... But Montagu never joined WHCA and The Daily Mail. There is no Kacey Montagu, except as a digital impersonation of a White House correspondent.
{snip}
How an online ‘Lego’ gamer infiltrated the White House press corps
"Kacey Montagu" posed as a reporter for the fictitious WHN and managed to fool real correspondents — and even the new Biden administration.
By CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO
04/09/2021 07:15 PM EDT
Four times in recent weeks, members of the White House press corps have relayed questions to press secretary Jen Psaki from someone claiming to be a fellow reporter who was not able to be there in the room due to Covid protocols. ... That colleague, who goes by the name Kacey Montagu, doesn’t exist — at least not as an actual reporter.
Since late last year, Montagu has taken on the identity of a White House correspondent extraordinaire with a fictional outlet to boot: White House News, shortened in emails to WHN.
Montagu started two real-life Twitter handles, which are followed by some top White House officials and journalists. Montagu has filed Freedom of Information Act requests and obtained Psaki’s personal financial disclosure form, along with the disclosure of at least one other official, the president’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
In communications with confidants, Montagu has posed as a member of White House Correspondents Association, claiming to be a reporter for The Daily Mail, the British tabloid known for its gossipy coverage of celebrities and political figures. Montagu also communicates regularly with top White House reporters and has had several exchanges with White House officials. ... But Montagu never joined WHCA and The Daily Mail. There is no Kacey Montagu, except as a digital impersonation of a White House correspondent.
{snip}
