BBC apologizes after airing interview with imposter claiming to be Sen. Cory Booker



The BBC has been left red-faced after airing a radio interview with a yet-unidentified prankster posing as U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), in what the outlet believes was "a deliberate hoax."

What are the details?

The interview ran during Friday's Newshour program on the British outlet, leaving some listeners perplexed.

Audience members took to social media to cry foul, with one person alerting the senator directly, writing, "@CoryBooker did you do an interview today with the BBC discussing the Khashoggi killing? Someone sounding nothing like you and without your speech pattern was claiming to be you today."

Another listener wrote, "I'm not sure who the BBC World Service just interviewed on Newshour about US relations with Saudi Arabia, but it definitely wasn't Senator Cory Booker..."

However, some folks besides the BBC were apparently fooled, too, with one person tweeting to Booker, "@CoryBooker great interview on the BBC World Service talking about peoples right to information and the Khashoggi murder by Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia."

On Monday, the BBC issued a correction and an apology, admitting the outlet had been duped "in what appears to be a deliberate hoax."

The broadcasting network added, "We have apologized to Senator Booker and are looking into what went wrong to make sure it doesn't happen again."

After issuing the statement, social media and reporters alike were left scrambling to find the audio, which has not yet been unearthed. The New York Daily News reported that "the BBC said the interview was pulled from its website minutes after it was aired."

Neither the BBC nor Booker have immediately responded to requests for comment on the incident.

Anything else?

The Daily Mail noted that "it is usually difficult for people to trick their way onto live television and radio programs because they are often vetted by more than one producer," yet, "the incidents do happen from time to time."

The Hill pointed to such a situation in December when an animal rights activist landed a televised interview with Fox Business' Mara Bartiromo, where he pretended to be the CEO of Smithfield Foods.

However, Bartiromo caught on to what had happened before the show was over, telling her viewers she had "an important correction to make," confessing: "It appears we have been punk'd."

The animal rights activist later told The Wrap he did not feel guilty about carrying out the ruse, which he pulled off using "fake email addresses and fake phone numbers and lots of pitches."

Booker suggests Amy Coney Barrett will 'delegitimize' SCOTUS if she doesn't recuse herself from election-related cases



Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) suggested Sunday that Amy Coney Barrett will "delegitimize" the Supreme Court if she does not preemptively recuse herself from cases related to the 2020 election.

What's the background?

After Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) explained why confirming a new Supreme Court justice prior to the election is crucial.

"Democrats and Joe Biden have made clear, they intend to challenge this election, they intend to fight the legitimacy of the election," Cruz said. "We cannot have Election Day come and go with a 4-4 court."

"A 4-4 court that is equally divided cannot decide anything. And I think we risk a constitutional crisis if we do not have a nine justice Supreme Court, particularly when there's such a risk of a contested litigation and a contested election," the Texas senator explained.

What did Booker say?

Despite Cruz's warning, Booker suggested on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Barrett, if confirmed prior to Election Day, should not have a say in any election-related case.

"I'm going to make it very clear. One of the things I want to ask her is will she recuse herself, in terms of any election issues that come before us, because if she does not recuse herself, I fear that the court will be further delegitimized."

Booker then turned to bash President Donald Trump.

"In other words, President Trump has said, 'I will not accept the result of the election unless I win. I'm going to push it to the Supreme Court, and oh, by the way, during the election I'm going to put somebody on the court, as well.' So I hope to have a conversation with her, and I'm blessed to be on the [Senate] Judiciary Committee, and I'll have that, as well. And hopefully, I'll have a good, informed dialogue back and forth," Booker said.

Booker went on to claim the Republican Party, by supporting Barrett's nomination, is "undermining their legitimacy, the legitimacy of the Supreme Court."

WATCH: Democratic Senator @CoryBooker says he intends to have a "good, informed dialogue" with Amy Coney Barrett.… https://t.co/0avmJVSMjU
— Meet the Press (@Meet the Press)1601217144.0

Democrats are working overtime to delegitimize Barrett's nomination. They're claiming her nomination is part of a power-grab by the president, and that she would take health care away from Americans.

However, there remain some honest Democrats who admit that, despite disagreeing with Barrett's judicial philosophy or the circumstances of her nomination, she remains "highly qualified" for the job.

"I want to be extremely clear. Regardless of what you or I may think of the circumstances of this nomination, Barrett is highly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court," Harvard Law School's Noah Feldman wrote in an essay. "And when she is confirmed, I am going to accept it as the consequence of the constitutional rules we have and the choices we collectively and individually have made. And I'm going to be confident that Barrett is going to be a good justice, maybe even a great one — even if I disagree with her all the way."