Fitzpatrick Staffer Fired After Posing As News Reporter: Sources

A staffer for the campaign to reelect U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick was fired after he posed as a reporter for the Bucks County Courier Times at campaign events. The staffer, identified by the newspaper as Ariel Benjamin Mannes, uploaded the videos he shot at campaign events to a YouTube channel used by opposition researchers.

According to a report by the Courier Times, the man questioned Fitzpatrick's Democratic challenger, Scott Wallace, on camera during a Sept. 15 event. He asked him "multiple off-topic questions." Wallace asked if he was a reporter, and he responded by saying he files for the Bucks County Courier.

A week later, Wallace's answers surfaced in a Washington Examiner editorial and a press release from the National Republican Congressional Committee, according to the candidate's campaign.

Fitzpatrick himself called the paper's executive editor to apologize, the publication said.

"Videos featuring Mannes speaking with Wallace appeared on Republican political tracker pages and were even included in press releases sent out by the National Republican Campaign Committee. The clips and bits from the tracking videos are often used in news articles, posts on partisan websites, and in election season ads," Wallace's campaign said.

The campaign said it has since cut ties with Mannes.

Image via Shutterstock