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For Immediate Release
February, 08 2024, 12:37pm EDT
Contact:
David Rosen, drosen@citizen.org
Emily Leach, eleach@citizen.org
FCC Bans Deepfake Robocalls But Can’t Solve the Larger Problem
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today announced the unanimous adoption of a Declaratory Ruling that recognizes calls made with AI-generated voices are “artificial” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, released the following statement:
“Thank you, FCC, for today’s desperately needed rule outlawing AI voice-generated robocalls. This rule will meaningfully protect consumers from rapidly spreading AI scams and deception. Every agency should follow suit and apply the tools and laws at their disposal to regulate AI.
“Unfortunately, through no fault of the FCC, this move is not enough to safeguard citizens and our elections. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act applies only in limited measure to election-related calls. The Act’s prohibition on use of ‘an artificial or prerecorded voice’ generally does not apply to non-commercial calls and non-profits. So the FCC’s new rule will not cure the problem of AI voice-generated calls related to elections – the kind of problem evidenced by the faked President Biden robocalls in New Hampshire (although those were illegal for other reasons).”
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.
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Fears of Imminent Ground Invasion Surge as Trump Weighs ‘Final Blow’ Options Against Iran
"Looking to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, a similar invasion of Iran, given its population size, would require as many as 1.6 million troops," warned one analyst.
Mar 26, 2026
The Trump administration is reportedly considering several options for a massive escalation of its unlawful war on Iran, heightening fears that US troops—possibly as early as Friday or the weekend—could be hurled into a deadly quagmire with no clear objective, legal rationale, or exit strategy.
Axios reported that among the options the Pentagon is considering are "invading or blockading" Kharg Island—Iran's primary oil export hub—and sending American forces "deep inside the interior of Iran" in an effort to seize the country's enriched uranium. The reporting indicates that the administration views the options as a "final blow" against Iran, despite US President Donald Trump's public claim that the war has already been won decisively.
The new reporting marked just the latest signal that the Trump administration could be readying a ground invasion, which—like the ongoing bombing campaign across Iran—has not been approved by the US Congress and would be deeply unpopular with the American public. The US and Iran have both put forth demands for a diplomatic resolution, but Iranian officials have said there are no active negotiations with the Trump administration, contrary to the president's claim earlier this week.
Brandan Buck, a research fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute who has criticized the war from the start, warned in a recent blog post that "any serious American invasion of Iran would likely rival or exceed the scale of Vietnam or the 1991 Gulf War, making it the largest US military undertaking since the Second World War."
"Looking to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, a similar invasion of Iran, given its population size, would require as many as 1.6 million troops," Buck noted. "Trump’s ill-considered decision to launch the war, coupled with his vague-but-ambitious goals, has made this impossible scenario a military possibility. Given the horrific costs such an invasion would entail, however, Trump should choose a different path: declare 'victory' and de-escalate."
Fears of an imminent ground invasion have spread to Republicans who were otherwise supportive of the Trump administration's decision to attack Iran. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who earlier this month voted against a resolution that aimed to stop the war, wrote on social media Wednesday afternoon that she "will not support troops on the ground in Iran."
Mace's post came shortly after she left a closed-door House Armed Services Committee briefing on Iran. The Republican lawmaker said she was "even more" opposed to a ground invasion following Wednesday's briefing.
"The justifications presented to the American public for the war in Iran were not the same military objectives we were briefed on today in the House Armed Services Committee," Mace wrote in a separate post on Wednesday. "This gap is deeply troubling. The longer this war continues, the faster it will lose the support of Congress and the American people."
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), who celebrated the US-Israeli bombing of Iran when it kicked off last month, told reporters following Wednesday's briefing—nearly a month into the war—that "we want to know more about what’s going on, what the options are, and why they’re being considered."
"Trump has a well-documented pattern of escalating on Friday night, after the markets close."
House Democratic leaders, meanwhile, faced backlash for reportedly deciding to punt a vote on an Iran war powers resolution until at least mid-April, even amid mounting evidence that the Trump administration is barreling headlong toward an illegal and potentially catastrophic ground assault.
"Congress is in session until Friday, after which they will go on a two-week recess," noted Nathan Thompson, senior policy adviser at Just Foreign Policy. "Trump has a well-documented pattern of escalating on Friday night, after the markets close. If House Democrats and [the House Foreign Affairs Committee] wait until after the recess, the damage could be done."
The Pentagon earlier this week ordered roughly 2,000 soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division to head to the Middle East. According to the US Central Command, more than 50,000 American troops are currently involved in the war on Iran.
During a briefing on Wednesday, a reporter noted to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that the 82nd Airborne Division is "typically deployed at the beginning of conflicts."
"Does the White House consider this conflict as wrapping up, or is it changing shape?" the reporter asked.
Leavitt responded that "the president likes to maintain options at his disposal."
Drop Site's Ryan Grim, citing an unnamed source, reported Thursday that "Naval Special Warfare teams were also given deployment orders yesterday, as well as a bunch of Tier 1 operators."
Taken together, Grim argued, recent developments suggest that "all the pieces are in place for a ground operation within a day."
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'Heretical and Batshit Crazy': Hegseth Rebuked for Bloodthirsty Prayer Asking God to Bless Iran War
Trump's Secretary of Defense called for US soldiers currently waging war against the people of Iran to be blessed with "overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy."
Mar 26, 2026
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth delivered a prayer in the name of Jesus Christ during an Evangelical Christian service at the Pentagon on Wednesday in which he called for American soldiers to be blessed with "overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy" and for "every round to find its mark" as the US-Israeli war on Iran continues despite widespread disapproval by a majority of US voters and global condemnation.
Hegseth, who has been under fire for the overtly sectarian monthly prayer services he's been hosting at the Pentagon, told those gathered that the prayer had been previously delivered as the "pre-mission reading" to soldiers before the January military against Venezuela, an attack on the sovereign nation which included the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady, Cilia Flores.
After quoting verses from the Bible's "Book of Psalms," Hegseth offered a prayer intended for US soldiers fighting against Iran in war ordered by President Donald Trump without congressional approval or popular support.
Pete Hegseth, at today's Christian Prayer & Worship Service at the Pentagon, prays for Almighty God to "pour out your wrath" and "break the teeth of the ungodly." He begs the Almighty to sanction "overwhelming violence" against "those who deserve no mercy" pic.twitter.com/eJyDeTANot
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) March 25, 2026
The full prayer, as read by Hegseth:
Almighty God, who trains our hands for war and our fingers for battle, you who stirred the nations from the north against Babylon of old, making her land a desolation where none dwell, behold now the wicked who rise against your justice and the peace of the righteous. Snap the rod of the oppressor, frustrate the wicked plans, and break the teeth of the ungodly. By the blast of your anger, let the evil perish. Let their bulls go down to slaughter for their day has come, the time of their punishment. Pour out your wrath upon those who plot vain things and blow them away like chaff before the wind.
Grant this task force clear and righteous targets for violence. Surround them as a shield, protect the innocent and blameless in their midst. Make their arrows like those of a skilled warrior who returned not empty-handed. Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation. Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy. Preserve their lives, sharpen their resolve, and let justice be executed swiftly and without remorse that evil may be driven back and wicked souls delivered to the eternal damnation prepared for them. For the wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. We ask these things with bold confidence in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ, King over all kings and amen.
"May we pray such prayer for our men and women in harm's way right now," said Hegseth at the conclusion.
Critics of Hegseth, known for his far-right politics, denounced the prayer as just the latest example of his alarming blend of Christian Nationalist rhetoric with violent, pro-war policies at the Pentagon.
Journalist Scott Horton denounced Hegseth's performance as "heretical and batshit crazy Christianist gibberish."
"Looks like we are sliding back to the Old Testament," said Frank Giustra, an investor and philanthropist. "No more love, just the wrath of God. Nuts."
"These guys are a danger to the planet," said author Diana Butler Bass after reading a review of Hegseth's comments at the prayer service. "Jesus weeps."
Earlier this month, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem and a member of the Catholic Church, warned against the use of "psuedo-religious language" being deployed by people like Hegseth to justify their war making.
"The abuse and manipulation of God's name to justify this and any other war is the gravest sin we can commit at this time," Pizzablla said. "War is first and foremost political and has very material interests, like most wars."
Specifically responding to Hegseth's previous invocation of Psalm 144, a passage he repeated on Wednesday, the Cardinal said people of faith should reject any effort to frame the war against Iran in religious terms.
"There are no new crusades," he said. "If God is present in this war, He is among those who are dying, who are suffering, who are in pain, who are oppressed in various ways, throughout the Middle East," he added. "This conflict has religious connotations, but they are manipulations: those who wish to bring religion into it exploit the name of God."
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'A Lot of Words for Murder': US Military Says It Killed 4 in 'Lethal Kinetic Strike' in Caribbean
The latest strike brought the total death toll from the Trump administration's illegal boat bombing spree to at least 163.
Mar 26, 2026
The US military said Wednesday that it killed four people in its latest attack on a vessel accused—without evidence—of smuggling drugs through routes in the Caribbean, bringing the total death toll from the Trump administration's illegal boat bombing spree to at least 163.
The US Southern Command said in a statement posted to social media that as part of an effort to apply "total systemic friction on the cartels," it "conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations." Brian Finucane, senior adviser to the US Program at the International Crisis Group, wrote in response, "That's a lot of words for murder."
Human rights organizations, UN experts, and legal scholars have condemned the US boat bombings, which began last September, as flagrant violations of international law. Earlier this month, following a previous US attack on a vessel in the eastern Pacific, Amnesty International reiterated its position that the strikes "constitute extrajudicial killings, a form of murder."
The boat bombings have continued apace even as they've faded from the headlines amid the Trump administration's illegal war on Iran. The US has carried out nearly 50 separate strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific over the past six months.
As with the war on Iran, which lawmakers did not authorize, Republicans in the US Congress have blocked resolutions aimed at preventing American forces from carrying out additional strikes on vessels in international waters.
Wednesday's bombing came a day after a New York Times investigation found that a strike carried out as part of a joint operation by the US and Ecuadorian militaries "appears to have destroyed a cattle and dairy farm, not a drug trafficking compound," as the Trump administration claimed.
"We are bombing Narco Terrorists on land as well," Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted earlier this month.
US Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said in response to the Times reporting that "this is deeply abhorrent, and raises questions about the intelligence used to justify the administration's boat strikes in the Caribbean."
"Many of us have warned it is likely innocent people are being killed based on dubious evidence," Beyer added. "Those concerns now appear to be justified."
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