A Democratic political consultant on Tuesday said he will not pay a court-ordered $22,500 to three voters after he admitted to using artificial intelligence (AI)-generated robocalls replicating former President Biden’s voice during the 2024 primaries.
Steve Kramer told The Associated Press he was already acquitted and would not respond to the court order on Friday. A jury did acquit Kramer of the charges of voter suppression and impersonating a candidate in July.
He added that the new lawsuit was a publicity stunt.
The court order stemmed from a lawsuit brought by the League of Women Voters. Along with ordering him to pay $7,500 to each of the three voters, it also barred him from engaging in the same conduct nationwide.
“Mr. Kramer has shown a consistent disregard for the law and the rights of voters,” Courtney Hostetler of Free Speech for People, who gave the League legal assistance, told the AP. “His plan to defy the court’s order continues this pattern, and reinforces the importance of the injunction and the damages award.”
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If Kramer does not pay up, the plaintiffs will seek further action, Hostetler said.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also fined Kramer $6 million, which he has also not paid, the AP reported. After the robocall scandal erupted, the FCC banned the use of AI robocalls.
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In May 2024, the New Hampshire Attorney General indicted Kramer with 13 counts each of felony voter suppression and misdemeanor impersonating a candidate.
The robocall, using Biden’s voice, urged voters to hold off on voting in the New Hampshire primary and instead vote in November.
The call was the first known use of deepfake technology in U.S. politics, sparking a tidal wave of calls to regulate the use of AI in elections.
The fake Biden voice in the call encouraged thousands of New Hampshire primary voters to stay home and “save” their votes.
Kramer worked for Rep. Dean Phillips’s (D-Minn.) long-shot presidential campaign. He previously said Phillips’s team was not connected to or aware of his robocall plan.
