Washington (CNN) Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was pranked by two Russians pretending to be Turkey's minister of defense in an August phone call, his office said on Thursday.
A spokesperson for Graham confirmed to CNN that the South Carolina Republican spoke with Russian pranksters Alexey Stolyarov and Vladimir Kuznetsov in a conversation he thought was with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.
"We have been successful in stopping many efforts to prank Senator Graham and the office, but this one slipped through the cracks," Graham spokesman Kevin Bishop said. "They got him."
According to audio of the call provided to Politico , Graham calls the Kurds a "threat" to Turkey -- a label that appears to contradict his public statements in recent days regarding President Donald Trump's decision to pull American troops out of the way of a Turkish invasion of Syria. The attack has been widely condemned by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for putting American allies, such as the Kurds, in harm's way.
"Your YPG Kurdish problem is a big problem," Graham told the pranksters in reference to the Kurdish People's Protection Units. Politico reports the pranksters have suspected ties to Russian intelligence.
jamescookenotthatone on October 11st, 2019 at 16:09 UTC »
You'd be amazed how far you can get by just pretending on the phone. There was that case a few years back where some radio comedians got in depth info about Duchess Kate right after she gave birth, just a small problem where the nurse that gave out the info killed herself.
MrsHausenfeffer on October 11st, 2019 at 11:49 UTC »
TWICE! They called back and got him a second time.
iDarkville on October 11st, 2019 at 11:44 UTC »
The shocking part is that when he thought he was talking to a friend, he revealed how he really felt about Turkey. He’s been lying to the public about opposing Trump — again.