A political vendor that handles contract canvassing operations for tech billionaire Elon Musk's super PAC is warning its employees not to speak to the press after reports that a significant share of the operation was inflated.
"A handful of disgruntled former contractors who were either fired or demoted are conspiring with reporters who want to elect Kamala Harris and undermine our program," said a text message meant to be passed along to contractors working with Blitz Canvassing, obtained by Hugo Lowell of The Guardian. "Please ask your canvassers to keep an eye out and let their managers know if they receive any calls we should know about."
"If for whatever reason a reporter calls and you find yourself in a conversation, just politely say 'no comment' and end the conversation to comply with the non-disclosure agreement that all of us are under," the message continued. "These reporters want to elect Democrats and embarrass their sources — so 'no comment' is always the best approach."
Blitz Canvassing manages voter outreach field operations in the battleground states of Arizona and Nevada for America PAC, an independent pro-Trump super PAC funded largely by Musk.
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This comes after The Guardian reported last week that back-end data from Blitz Canvassing suggests around 20 to 25 percent of door knocks recorded by the firm's contractors may have been faked.
Musk has committed tens of millions of dollars to America PAC to mobilize voters for the Trump campaign, which has mostly outsourced traditional voter outreach operations elsewhere and has shifted more of its budget to legal resources to contest election results — a decision that has some GOP strategists worried.
Other reporting has suggested that these outreach efforts around the country have been shaky, hindered by software glitches for canvassers and Musk's erratic hands-on management style.