A suspected British prankster appears to have conned White House officials including Anthony Scaramucci into replying to him after pretending in email correspondence to be several different members of the Trump team. 
 
 The man, who goes by the Twitter handle @SINON_REBORN, posed as Jared Kushner well enough to convince homeland security adviser Tom Bossert to reply to him, according to CNN. Bossert included his personal email address in the exchange. 
 
 The man also fooled Scaramucci, the White House communications director who was fired on Monday, by pretending to be Reince Priebus, the former Trump administration chief of staff with whom he was believed to be in open warfare. 
 
 In a series of emails, the man posing as Priebus baited Scaramucci, accusing him of being “breathtakingly hypocritical” and saying “at no stage have you acted in a way that is remotely classy”. 
 
 Scaramucci responded: “You know what you did. We all do. Even today. But rest assured we were prepared. A Man would apologize.” 
 
 The heated exchange continued, with the prankster writing: “I can’t believe you are questioning my ethics! The so called ‘Mooch’, who can’t even manage his first week in the White House without leaving upset in his wake. I have nothing to apologize for.” 
 
 Scaramucci replied: “Read Shakespeare. Particularly Othello. You are right there. My family is fine by the way and will thrive. I know what you did. No more replies from me.” 
 
 The White House has confirmed it is looking into the matter. “We take all cyber related issues very seriously and are looking into these incidents further,” press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told CNN. 
 
 EMAIL PRANKSTER (@SINON_REBORN) Reince (me) giving @Scaramucci something to think about. He never replied haha pic.twitter.com/hutjACmogR 
 
 EMAIL PRANKSTER (@SINON_REBORN) An excerpt of what I emailed to @Scaramucci whilst playing the part of Jon Huntsman Jr. Apparently this didn't seem out of the ordinary?! 😂🤡 pic.twitter.com/6INHJi3KCD 
 
 US energy secretary Rick Perry duped by Russian pranksters to talk about pig manure Read more 
 
 The man, who described himself as a “lazy anarchist” on his Twitter profile, told CNN that his actions were meant to be “humorous” not malicious. 
 
 “I’m not trying to get the keys to the vault or anything like that.” 
 
 
 
 He has previously convinced Scaramucci that he was the ambassador to Russia-designate Jon Hunstman and tricked Hunstman himself into believing he was the president’s son Eric Trump. He also fleetingly convinced Eric Trump he was his brother, Donald Jr. ||||| Move over President Donald Trump. You are yesterday’s news. It seems like this is now The Anthony Scaramucci Show. And Trump better get used to it. 
 
 The new White House communications director called the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza, a member in good standing in the Opposition Party, on Wednesday evening to blast his co-workers in a rambling rant that was so outrageous and discordant that reporters wondered whether Scaramucci drunk-dialed Lizza, was drunk with power, or, revealing he was unqualified for his communications director job, did not know how to smoothly go on and off the record — like Trump skillfully did recently with three New York Times reporters — so that such inflammatory comments do not reflect badly on his boss. 
 
 There is absolutely no way that Scaramucci could be stupid enough to make those comments on the record, so Scaramucci, in a fit of rage about leaks about him, may have temporarily forgotten he was on the record or not realized that he was talking to someone in the Opposition Media, whose members only protect liberals when it comes to sweeping such comments under the rug. 
 
 Regardless, his defamatory comments about Steve Bannon, the White House’s chief strategist, will only ensure that the story will be all about Scaramucci again. At this point, Scaramucci might as well just be Trump’s permanent replacement on The Apprentice. 
 
 “I’m not Steve Bannon, I’m not trying to suck my own cock,” he reportedly said. “I’m not trying to build my own brand off the fucking strength of the President. I’m here to serve the country.” 
 
 In a rambling interview, Scaramucci also vowed to hunt down the White House’s leakers, suggested that embattled White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus would be fired if he leaks, and was incensed that Priebus “cock-blocked” him for six months from getting a position in the Trump administration. He also called Priebus “a fucking paranoid schizophrenic” and seemed to imply that some White House staffers may have committed a felony by leaking sensitive financial information about Scaramucci even though his financial disclosure form was publicly available. 
 
 It is also interesting that Scaramucci had nothing bad to say about globalists Jared Kushner, Gary Cohn, and Dina Powell during his rant. 
 
 Scaramucci also called a member of the Opposition Party when he was seething because details about his dinner with Sean Hannity, President Donald Trump, and First Lady Melania Trump leaked. That’s usually never a good idea given those in the Opposition Party are looking to bring down conservatives and nationalists, especially when they are not in the soundest of emotional states and thus vulnerable to such comments. 
 
 His comments about Bannon also sound like someone falsely hating in another person what he secretly may hate about himself. 
 
 Since accepting the communications director job, Scaramucci has promoted his book from the White House podium. Despite having told students not to brag about Harvard, Scaramucci has name-checked his alma mater nearly every chance he gets, acting like someone who needs to reference “Harvard” to try to prove to others that he is not in over his head and actually belongs. Scaramucci, the ultimate self-promoter and brand-builder, also ran the “SALT” conference, which is a wanna-be Davos-style conference that brings together globalists and members of the permanent political class from the D.C. swamp to hobnob and self-perpetuate. 
 
 Legacy media reporters have also mocked Scaramucci for vowing to crack down on leakers given that he was reportedly known as the “go-to” leaker for those seeking info from Mitt Romney’s and Jeb Bush’s campaigns. 
 
 “I sometimes use colorful language. I will refrain in this arena but not give up the passionate fight for @realDonaldTrump’s agenda. #MAGA,” Scaramucci tweeted on Thursday evening. 
 
 I sometimes use colorful language. I will refrain in this arena but not give up the passionate fight for @realDonaldTrump's agenda. #MAGA — Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) July 27, 2017 
 
 But Scaramucci’s reckless interview raises serious concerns about whether he may accidentally put Trump and members of his administration and family in legal limbo since every word that is spoken by Trump’s team will be parsed endlessly. In addition, Stephanie Ruhle, one of the savviest anchors around when it comes to Wall Street and someone who obviously knows even more about the financial industry than she publicly reveals, said on Thursday evening that Scaramucci’s comments may make it more difficult for him to sell off his hedge fund firm to Chinese investors, which is a deal he must seal and get approval for in order for Scaramucci to officially work in the White House. 
 
 Here's a question-if HNA was buying SkyBridge its pristine reputation&possible WH hook up..what exactly are they thinking now? #nocoverbid — Stephanie Ruhle (@SRuhle) July 27, 2017 
 
 If Scaramucci is tarnishing his brand at the moment when it needs to be the most spotless and pristine, then imagine the disregard he will have for Trump’s brand, which Trump has built up over his lifetime. If Trump thinks that Scaramucci’s outbursts will damage Trump’s brand for the long haul, he may see Scaramucci as a gamble that is not worth taking. 
 
 UPDATE: 8:50 PM ET: ||||| Another day, another bombshell. 
 
 Anthony Scaramucci’s abrupt ouster on Monday capped an extraordinary stretch of turmoil at the White House. Yet some within the president’s orbit argued that it was one of those rare Washington events that was simultaneously shocking but unsurprising. 
 
 Scaramucci lasted only 10 days in a job he had long coveted, that of White House communications director. 
 
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 His brief tenure included a profanity-strewn interview with The New Yorker in which he lambasted prominent colleagues and the resignations of two of his biggest internal foes, White House press secretary Sean Spicer and chief of staff Reince Priebus. 
 
 But it was the arrival of John Kelly as Priebus’s replacement that sounded the death knell for Scaramucci. The retired general is eager to put some order on a White House plagued with infighting. That meant there was no place for such a loose cannon as Scaramucci. 
 
 Kelly levered Scaramucci out just as expertly as “The Mooch” outmaneuvered Priebus less than two weeks ago. 
 
 Even as the news reverberated around Washington Monday, it was hard to find anyone on Team Trump who argued that Scaramucci’s de facto firing was a mistake. 
 
 “This was a demand of Kelly and a smart one at that,” said Barry Bennett, who served as a senior campaign adviser to Trump’s 2016 presidential bid. He added that the firing sent a “good message to D.C. New sheriff in town.” 
 
 A source close to the White House was even more scathing. 
 
 “Scaramucci quickly became an embarrassing distraction who did not know anything about the job,” this source said. “The only reason Trump wanted him to have the job was to go on TV, but not outshine him with negative publicity.” 
 
 The negativity around Scaramucci was not limited to his instantly infamous New Yorker interview, in which he called Priebus a “f------ paranoid schizophrenic” and referred to chief strategist Stephen Bannon in even cruder terms. 
 
 Adding a tabloid twist, it also emerged that Scaramucci’s wife had recently filed for divorce, shortly before the birth of the couple’s second son. 
 
 Even Trump — who is known to sometimes enjoy staff intrigue — may have concluded that the Long Island financier was more trouble than he was worth. 
 
 At a packed White House media briefing on Monday afternoon, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Trump had found Scaramucci’s comments in the New Yorker interview “inappropriate.” 
 
 An earlier White House statement half-heartedly cast the decision to leave as Scaramucci’s, asserting that he “felt it was best to give Chief of Staff John Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team.” 
 
 But no one buys that. During the briefing, Sanders avoided giving a direct answer to the question of whether Scaramucci was fired. 
 
 CNN reported Monday afternoon that Scaramucci had been escorted off the White House grounds, though the network’s Jeff Zeleny emphasized that was “not necessarily unusual” for someone no longer employed within the administration. 
 
 The hope among some Trump loyalists — and Republicans more broadly — is that Kelly’s first day will set a new tone. 
 
 There is a deafening consensus that the White House needs to run more smoothly after a volatile first six months that has seen the president’s approval ratings slide downward, a prolonged but futile attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act and no significant legislative achievements. 
 
 GOP strategist Kevin Madden asserted that Scaramucci’s departure “could be an encouraging sign that John Kelly’s no-nonsense approach has made headway on Day 1 at least.” 
 
 Ever since Trump began his long-shot bid for the White House in June 2015, however, there have been periodic suggestions that he would curb his transgressive style in favor of a more orthodox approach. 
 
 Such a shift was predicted when Paul Manafort ousted Corey Lewandowski as the head of Trump’s campaign during the Republican primary; when he officially became the GOP nominee; when he was inaugurated; and when he notched his one big win with the relatively conventional process that confirmed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. 
 
 On every one of those occasions, Trump reverted to his rambunctious and unpredictable self before long. 
 
 It is unclear how Kelly would curb those tendencies or whether he would even try. 
 
 "I keep saying there is no better Trump, there's never a pivot," said GOP strategist Rick Wilson, a vigorous critic of the president. "No one is smart or strong enough to change him." 
 
 The president himself does not necessarily accept the need for change, at least publicly. In a tweet on Monday morning, Trump ran through a list of positive economic indicators and ended with the assertion: “No WH chaos!” 
 
 Republicans who are critical of Trump see no realistic hope for change, in the president's demeanor or in his managerial style. 
 
 Others who are more supportive reacted with a shrug of the shoulders to news of Scaramucci’s departure. 
 
 Charlie Black, a veteran GOP strategist, asked for his thoughts on the unfolding drama, replied, “No thoughts, other than this was perfectly predictable.”
– Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci wasn't on the job for long—but it was long enough to be taken in by an email prankster who impersonated other officials. In emails to Scaramucci, the prankster pretended to be Reince Priebus and may have escalated tensions between the two men, the Guardian reports. After Priebus was fired as White House chief of staff, his impersonator told Scaramucci: "General Kelly will do a fine job. I'll even admit he will do a better job than me. But the way in which that transition has come about has been diabolical. And hurtful." Scaramucci replied: "You know what you did. We all do. Even today. But rest assured we were prepared. A Man would apologize." "I can't believe you are questioning my ethics! The so called 'Mooch,' who can’t even manage his first week in the White House without leaving upset in his wake," the fake Priebus wrote. The real Scaramucci replied: "Read Shakespeare. Particularly Othello ... I know what you did. No more replies from me." In other emails, the prankster—who describes himself as a "lazy anarchist" and uses the Twitter handle @SINON_REBORN—convinces Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert he is Jared Kushner, convinces Scaramucci that he is Ambassador to Russia-designate Jon Huntsman Jr., and convinces Huntsman that he is Eric Trump, CNN reports. The White House says it is investigating.