Cnn
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An investigation into the application of laws is underway in efforts to usurp the identity of President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, according to two familiar sources.
The Wall Street Journal First reportedly reported on the survey on efforts to usurp the identity of Wiles, writing that “senators, governors, the main American leaders in the United States and other well-known personalities have received SMS and telephone calls from a person who claimed to be the chief of staff.”
Wiles is one of the closest advisers to Trump and is often in contact with the legislators who have to reach the president. It has a long list of influential republican contacts.
A senior White House official said that Wiles told other Trump administration members that she believed that her list of personal phones and contacts had been hacked, while the imitator contacts only high -level people on this list. Many people who received messages were skeptical about what Wiles, according to the official.
This led some of the business leaders, senators and governors who received a message from the person who claims to be Wiles to contact the White House and try to check that it was in fact the chief of staff, said the manager. This is how the White House learned for the first time on the imitator.
The official would not share specific names of those who have been contacted by the imitator, but confirmed the major leaders and CEOs, the members of the Congress and the Governors were one of those who received messages.
The investigation comes after the FBI warned earlier this month That hackers have used vocal messages generated by AI to usurp the identity of senior officials of the United States government to enter online accounts.
The FBI warned when these imitations and subsequent access to the government or personal accounts could lead to other officials or their targeted partners and contacts.
“The White House takes the cybersecurity of all the staff very seriously, and this affair continues to be the subject of an investigation,” a White House official told CNN.
FBI director Kash Patel said in a statement: “The FBI takes all the threats against the president, its staff and our cybersecurity with the greatest seriousness. The guarantee of the capacity of our administration officials to communicate safely to accomplish the president’s mission is an absolute priority. ”
Wiles refused to comment through a spokesperson.
Trump told journalists on Friday evening that he was aware of reports on identity attempts, but said Wiles could manage it.
“She is an incredible woman. She can manage him, but I heard that they had broken her phones where they tried to identify her. No one can pretend to be Susie,” said Trump. “There is only one Susie.”
Wiles, the First woman to hold the title of chief of staffis a experienced political agent of Florida who was one of Trump’s most recent advisers, especially as campaign director in 2024.
Before accepting the important office in the west wing, Wiles expressed certain reservations on the role and had certain requests, CNN reported At the time of his selection. At the top of his list of conditions, there was more control over who can reach the president at the Oval office.
As a campaign director, Wiles was widely recognized for leading what was considered a most sophisticated and disciplined campaign of Trump, which included keeping many marginal voices in his distance orbit.
Previously, Wiles helped Trump win the Sunshine State in 2016 and 2020. She was also Trump’s chief of staff during her stay at the White House after her defeat in 2020.
Wiles was also a high -level advisor to the governor of Florida, Ron Desantis, but she was ousted from her inner circle in 2019 in the middle of increasing tensions between the two.
This story has been updated with additional reports.
Hannah Rabinowitz of CNN, Kaanita Iyer and Alejandra Jaramillo contributed to this report.
