Anti-Trump activist Louise Mensch and her associate were tricked by a hoaxer into spreading a completely fabricated story about President Donald Trump.
The hoaxer revealed the full truth to the Guardian, providing the email exchange and saying she acted "out of frustration" over the former British Member of Parliament's "dissemination of fake news."
The hoaxer told Mensch's co-writer Claude Taylor in an email that she was a woman named "Caitlin" who worked in New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office. She claimed the office was investigating Trump's modeling agency for sex trafficking.
"Taylor asked no questions to verify my identity, did no vetting whatsoever, sought no confirmation from a second source—but instead asked leading questions to support his various theories, asking me to verify them," the hoaxer told the Guardian.
Taylor soon shared the claim on Twitter.
From NYAG Schneiderman source, "I am aware of at least one sealed indictment targeting multiple Trump Organization Principals".
— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) July 22, 2017
I have few details but apparently the possibility exists that our president has been a sex trafficker. That's frowned upon. https://t.co/SFScjkaLlK
— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) July 22, 2017
Mensch followed up with her own story claiming, "Sources with links to the intelligence community report that Donald Trump is being investigated for trafficking underage girls into the United States for sexual abuse, under the guise of his shell modeling company, Trump Models."
Despite the story being entirely fabricated, Mensch claimed to have her own sources confirming the allegations, and said she knew about it before the hoaxer even contacted Taylor.
After the Guardian asked for comment, Taylor apologized on Twitter.
1. Mea Culpa. A few weeks ago I started receiving what I believed was credible information re NYAG Schneiderman. As time went on I began to
— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) August 28, 2017
2. suspect the info was not genuine. It turns out the tips were phony. As a "citizen journalist" I acknowledge my error and do apologize.
— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) August 28, 2017
Mensch, however, has refused to back down. She claims to still have sources who verify the story, and she pinned a tweet about the "Pimp POTUS" allegation to her Twitter profile.
#PIMPOTUS @RealDonaldTrump under personal investigation for sex trafficking underage girls with Trump Models https://t.co/SsWnlI4mTC
— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) August 15, 2017