A “disgruntled staffer” reportedly posted biographies of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence on the State Department website claiming both of their terms ended on Monday afternoon.
For a brief period of time, Trump’s biography read that his “term ended on 2021-01-11 19:49:00.” Pence’s biography read that his “term ended on 2021-01-11 19:44:22.” Trump’s ending date time changed repeatedly and eventually both pages were taken down.
The biographies come just over one week before President-elect Joe Biden is to be sworn into office. The incident was not a hack, but rather a “disgruntled staffer,” according to Buzzfeed, which cited two anonymous current diplomats.
“It’s 100% not a hack,” the diplomats said according to Buzzfeed.
UPDATE: Sources tell @BuzzFeedNews a “disgruntled staffer” is behind the State Department site’s change of Trump and Pence’s biographies. More TK. https://t.co/5Gbb3cEhRK
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) January 11, 2021
Also, the timestamp seems to have changed three times since the page went up: pic.twitter.com/QwvK9cF3El
— Alp Ozcelik (@alplicable) January 11, 2021
The pages now lead to a 404 error announcement. The biographies come just days after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol as lawmakers were certifying the electoral college votes for Biden. Some Trump supporters have backed the president in his efforts to claim mass election fraud, despite a lack of evidence. (RELATED: State Department Inspector General Is Fired, Was Investigated For Mishandling Sensitive Information)
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly ordered an internal investigation as a result of the false biographies being published, Buzzfeed reported. The investigation is to begin with the interns and employees departing the State Department amid Biden taking office, the publication added.