Elections

Jimmy Carter’s ‘looking for work’ grandson claims credit for surfacing Romney video

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Former Democratic President Jimmy Carter’s “looking for work” grandson, James Carter IV, is claiming credit for a leaked video of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney dismissing voters loyal to President Barack Obama as people “dependent on government” who “will vote for the president no matter what.”

Carter is credited as a “research assistant” on the Mother Jones story that broke Monday, and has been boasting on Twitter that this is his “biggest story yet,” directing his Twitter followers to a New York Magazine article offering more details about “How Jimmy Carter’s Grandson Helped Leak the Secret Romney Fund-raiser Video.

While Carter did not film the video himself, he did find the video and source online.

“I’ve been searching for clips on Republicans for a long time, almost every day,” Carter told New York Magazine. “I just do it for fun.”

According to New York Magazine, portions of the video that were uploaded and subsequently deleted from YouTube in May by a user going by the name “Rachel Maddow” caught Carter’s attention. The clip of Romney discussing Bain Capital’s use of Chinese labor received media coverage at the time.

Three weeks ago, more clips surfaced on an account whose owner was self-named “Anne Onymous.” Carter followed up with the the apparent source of the video on Twitter.

“That seemed to be the purpose of [the filming] — to get it to a larger audience,” Carter told New York Magazine. He then put the anonymous source in touch with Mother Jones reporter David Corn, noting that “[i]t was a natural fit.”

“Any time that you can find a clip that strengthens the narrative already established, that’s what becomes a big deal,” Carter told the magazine. “I’ve been trying to get paid for this but it hasn’t worked out yet. This might help.”

Carter describes himself on Twitter as an “Oppo[sition] researcher; political junkie; news sponge; policy wonk. Currently looking for work… Seriously, give me a project.”

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