By Linley Sanders
Staff Writer
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It's coming from inside the House!
Someone used a Congressional computer on Tuesday to alter the Wikipedia pages of Special Counsel Robert Mueller and Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos, one day after Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying about a meeting he had with Russians.
A passage on Mueller's page was altered from "Mueller is of German, English and Scottish descent" to a more timely assessment: "Mueller is Donald Trump's worst nightmare."
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Papadopoulos's entry expanded from "Papadopoulos joined Donald Trump's presidential campaign in March 2016 as a foreign policy advisor" to include joke about his multi-syllable surname.
"Papadopoulos, not to be confused with Mr. Snuffleupagus or George Stephanopoulos, joined Donald Trump's presidential campaign in March 2016 as a foreign policy advisor," it read after the changes.
The changes were logged by an automated Twitter account that tracks Wikipedia edits from IP addresses within the U.S. Congress computer network. The changes were made by an anonymous user.
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It is unclear why anyone would mix up a low-level Trump campaign staffer—now guilty of lying to the FBI—with either Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos or Sesame Street icon Snuffleupagus.
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But that didn't stop CNN host Wolf Blitzer from making the mistake, saying on air, "The case against George Stephanopoulos, oh ah, Papadopoulos I should say, whose role could be very significant..."
The Wikipedia edits are anonymous, but the source could be an elected senator, congressman, staff member or even visitors to the building, such as journalists, constituents, tourists or lobbyists. The Twitter bot, Congress Edits, uses open-source software to scan all anonymous edits within Congress.
Wikipedia changes emanating from the hallowed halls of Congress are a regular occurrence. Just on Tuesday, "List of nicknames used by George W. Bush" was edited to refer to Dick Cheney as a "War Criminal" and the Wikipedia article for "Day Care" was edited from Congress to include a reference to Senator Bob Corker's recent comment that the White House is "an adult day care center."
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Meanwhile, the Trump team is downplaying the overall impact of the Mueller investigation into the Trump campaign's suspected collusion with the Kremlin, saying it does not impact the president, but there have been reports that even Republicans would support impeachment if the president fired Mueller during the probe.
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