Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, has fallen prey to two pranksters from Russia, who are known supporters of Moscow’s murderous dictatorship. They managed to trick him into believing he was speaking with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Putin’s Pranksters Strike Again
The two Russian pranksters, Lexus and Vovan, whose real names are Alexei Stolyarov and Vladimir Kuznetsov, have been known for making fools of Western politicians, celebrities, or Russian opposition figures.
They’ve done this by staging fake phone calls and pretending to be certain political or public figures from Eastern Europe or Russia. Vovan and Lexus are often considered to be collaborators of Russia’s intelligence services, as they typically target individuals who are critical of Putin’s dictatorship.
In the past, the pro-regime pranksters have managed to dupe Elton John, Kyiv’s Mayor and world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan, North Macedonia’s leader Zoran Zaev, US Rep. Maxine Waters, and Prince Harry.
They’ve even fooled Canada’s Prime Minister Justine Trudeau, US Senator Bernie Sanders, then-US Senator Kamala Harris (in 2020), Poland’s President Andrzje Duda, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Harry Potter author JK Rowling, among dozens of others.
This time, Putin’s fun operatives managed to trick Fed chief Jerome Powell by leading him to believe he was speaking with Ukraine’s leader Zelenskyy.
Russia invaded its pro-Western neighbor Ukraine in February 2022. In the 15 months since then, Russia failed to overwhelm Ukraine. America’s military aid has been key to the Ukrainians’ survival.
Bloomberg reports that the Federal Reserve confirms that Chairman Jerome Powell was pranked by a fake Zelenzkyy. Powell clearly provided sensitive information to the pranksters but the FED claims “no sensitive or confidential information was discussed”. pic.twitter.com/mVaKYh3RBF
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) April 27, 2023
Pranksters posing as President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine tricked the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, into having a conversation with them in January, according to video clips covered on Russian state television and posted online.
https://t.co/Xg3RN8gSyJ— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 28, 2023
So the man who is supposed to have his thumb on the US economy fell for a prank call? Also, why is the head of the Fed taking private calls with Zelensky? https://t.co/Hdf686r6jD
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) April 28, 2023
Honest Powell Didn’t Give Away Anything
In their fake conversation with Powell, Lexus and Vovan got him to speak even more honestly than he does at congressional hearings, The Gateway Pundit reported.
Thus, Powell told the fake Zelenskyy that the Fed intended to hike US interest rates twice more as part of its attempts to beat down inflation. During the conversation, the Fed chief even joked that he had a printing press in his basement.
Powell also told Putin’s pranksters that there was likely going to be a recession. A spokesperson for Powell has confirmed the Fed chairman indeed had a conversation with a person who impersonated Ukraine’s president.
The conversation occurred in January. According to the spokesperson, Powell didn’t give out any “sensitive or confidential” information; the conversation was in line with America’s support for Ukraine, which is fighting off Russia’s aggression.
Jerome Powell predicts raising interest rates to curb inflation, and ADMITS that a recession is “likely” in a call with Russian pranksters posing as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pic.twitter.com/AdS7BVRehc
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 28, 2023
This article appeared in Mainstpress and has been published here with permission.NEW: 🇺🇸 FED Chair Jerome Powell admits he took a call with Russian pranksters pretending to be Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. 🤡 pic.twitter.com/z3xJoGUSmh
— Radar🚨 (@RadarHits) April 27, 2023
