Lurid Trump allegations made by Louise Mensch and co-writer came from hoaxer

• Mensch and Claude Taylor tweeted details of criminal inquires that didn’t exist
• Hoaxer who fed information said she acted out of frustration over fake news
• Taylor issues mea culpa on Twitter after being approached by Guardian

Jon Swaine in New York
Monday 28 August 2017 22.28 BST

Explosive allegations about Donald Trump made by online writers with large followings among Trump critics were based on bogus information from a hoaxer who falsely claimed to work in law enforcement.

Claude Taylor tweeted fake details of criminal inquiries into Trump that were invented by a source whose claim to work for the New York attorney general was not checked, according to emails seen by the Guardian. The allegations were endorsed as authentic and retweeted by his co-writer Louise Mensch.

The source’s false tips included an allegation, which has been aggressively circulated by Mensch and Taylor, that Trump’s inactive fashion model agency is under investigation by New York authorities for possible sex trafficking.

The hoaxer, who fed the information to Taylor by email, said she acted out of frustration over the “dissemination of fake news” by Taylor and Mensch. Their false stories about Trump have included a claim that he was already being replaced as president by Senator Orrin Hatch in a process kept secret from the American public.

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