Former GOP Official Behind Fake ‘Report’ – A Tweet – Trump Used to Fraudulently Claim 3-5 Million Votes Were ‘Illegal’
‘Greg’s Always Been a Little Loose With the Truth’
It all started with a tweet.
Gregg Phillips three days after the November election took to Twitter to claim he had analyzed a database and discovered at least three million votes were cast by non-citizens.Â
Completed analysis of database of 180 million voter registrations.
Number of non-citizen votes exceeds 3 million.
Consulting legal team.
— Gregg Phillips (@JumpVote) November 11, 2016
Two days later he tweeted that he had since verified his data and was joining with a right wing group that has been accused of working to intimidate Black, Hispanic, and immigrant voters to begin legal action.
We have verified more than three million votes cast by non-citizens.
We are joining .@TrueTheVote to initiate legal action. #unrigged
— Gregg Phillips (@JumpVote) November 13, 2016
Those two tweets were all it took for conspiracy theorist and far right wing fanatic Alex Jones to publish on InfoWars an article claiming, with zero legitimate proof, that “Trump may have won popular vote” in an article titled (all caps, of course, as fake news sites often do), “REPORT: THREE MILLION VOTES IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAST BY ILLEGAL ALIENS.”
Phillips has not provided any evidence whatsoever for his claims, but he sat down with CNN’s Chros Cuomo Friday morning and in a lengthy interview explained his beliefs:
Gregg Phillips, the man who claims to have the names of 3million who voted illegally, talks with me on New Day https://t.co/kqdG0h6nZB
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) January 27, 2017
President Trump apparently was watching:
Look forward to seeing final results of VoteStand. Gregg Phillips and crew say at least 3,000,000 votes were illegal. We must do better!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2017
A frightening show of support for someone who has zero credibility. Many on Twitter noted the president’s tweet, and were outraged:
In Trump’s America, any fuckhead with a twitter account can influence policy. I hope I’m next! https://t.co/TblglK9OBz
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) January 27, 2017
What Trump is excited about: VoteStand, a phone app that lets racists take pix of people they think look suspicious. https://t.co/nkUcb9d5XV
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) January 27, 2017
This is so completely outrageous people are now calling him Liar-in-Chief. https://t.co/Sx4wlLSGrE
— Amy Lange (@langeamyFOX2) January 27, 2017
Gregg Phillips is the former finance chair & Executive Director of the Mississippi Republican Party. A huge Trump supporter. https://t.co/RE9nCDSaGq
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) January 27, 2017
I’m the only reporter in the world who’s talked to Gregg Phillips.
He hasn’t released a single piece of data.https://t.co/AwaVxUOdBK https://t.co/naTaNvKbN2— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) January 27, 2017
Here’s @GlennKesslerWP on the credibility of Gregg Phillips.
This is truly wild and unhinged territory https://t.co/OsAnGMl1r2
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 27, 2017
just fyi, gregg phillips isn’t one of trump’s official investigators or anything. he’s a twitter conspiracy theorist https://t.co/eeSDIqWis3
— Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (@Hello_Tailor) January 27, 2017
This man, Gregg Phillips, is actively deleting CRAZY tweets of his by the minute claiming Obama & Homeland Security hacked the last election https://t.co/RE9nCDSaGq
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) January 27, 2017
If you find Gregg Phillips credible, please send me your banking login & account number. I have a special opportunity for you! https://t.co/HoAVRfSCpy
— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) January 27, 2017
“Gregg Phillips and crew” literally just a random tinfoil hatter on Twitter. https://t.co/B0LS2ARPOC
— Christopher Ingraham (@_cingraham) January 27, 2017
Of note: votefraud website originally linked to Gregg Phillips by InfoWars now says it has no idea who he is. https://t.co/S2ZjXM1XFM
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) January 27, 2017
Gregg Phillips invented his claim before all the votes were counted–and has never provided evidence https://t.co/zZUGWYmnB7
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) January 27, 2017
“He said he collected and analyzed more than 180 million voting records, using his algorithm. He said he had also analyzed records since ballots were cast,” The Clarion-Ledger reports. “Phillips said he had a specific number for how many non-citizen votes were cast in Mississippi on Nov. 8, but wouldn’t share what that number was.”
Phillips, it turns out, is a big-time Trump supporter, a former finance director of the Alabama Republican Party, and a former executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party, according to The Miami Herald, which says he also was a managing director of a Newt Gingrich super PAC.
“Greg’s always been a little loose with the truth,” Mississippi Sen. John Hohrn told the Clarion-Ledger.
PolitiFact has debunked Phillips’ claims.
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