A political operative working for Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips has admitted to being behind robocalls spoofing President Joe Biden’s voice that tried to deter New Hampshire residents from voting in last month’s primary.

The Phillips campaign says it hired the consultant, Steve Kramer, to help the congressman get on the New York and Pennsylvania ballots but had no knowledge about the robocall scheme.

In a statement sent to Spectrum News on Monday, Kramer wrote: “The evening of Sunday, January 20th, 2 days before the New Hampshire primary, I sent out an automated call to 5,000 most likely to vote Democrats. Using easy to use online technology, an automated version of President Joe Biden voice was created.”

Kramer says the robocall plot was an act of civil disobedience and claims credit for spurring actions aimed at restricting the use of AI in politics. Among those steps, the Federal Communications Commission earlier this month made the use of AI-generated voices in robocalls illegal. 

“Artificial intelligence is here to stay,” Kramer wrote in his statement. “Whether we look back and regret steps not taken is only a choice we humans can make.”

NBC News first reported on Kramer’s role after a New Orleans street magician, Paul Carpenter, told the network Kramer hired him to create the fake audio using artificial intelligence. Carpenter says he believed Kramer was working for the Biden campaign.

In the robocalls, a voice resembling Biden’s told New Hampshire residents to “save your vote for the November election.”

“Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again,” the fake Biden voice said. “Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.”

New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella launched an investigation into the calls. Earlier this month, he said investigators had identified Life Corp. as the source of the calls and Lingo Telecom as the company that transmitted them. Both firms are based in Texas.

New Hampshire issued cease-and-desist orders and subpoenas to both companies, while the FCC issued a cease-and-desist letter to the telecommunications company, Formella said. 

Kramer said in his statement Life Corp. “had no knowledge of the content of this call prior to delivery,” adding, “I’d use them again, but they are done with my business.”

Lingo Telecom said in a statement it quickly suspended the involved account after being contacted by investigators and was cooperating with the probe.

Carpenter told The Associated Press he got nervous after learning about the criminal investigations into the call, so he contacted an NBC reporter. He said he is considering legal action against Kramer.

Carpenter said he was paid $150 to create the fake audio, which took him less than 20 minutes and cost only $1. 

“I created the gun. I didn’t shoot it,” he told the AP.

Kramer said in an interview with NBC that he has received a subpoena from the FCC, suspects he might be sued by a half-dozen people and could face jail time.

“I’m not afraid to testify. I know why I did everything,” he told NBC. “If a House Oversight Committee wants me to testify, I’m going to demand they put it on TV because I know more than them.”

Phillips posted Friday on X, formerly Twitter, that he’s “disgusted that a consultant hired to assist my campaign w/ballot access is alleged to have faked a robocall impersonating Joe Biden. While I don’t know the person, such behavior is despicable and I trust will be investigated by authorities.”

In a separate X post on Sunday, Phillips wrote of Kramer, “Glad he fessed-up,” adding, “America should already have AI guardrails in place to prevent its nefarious use. The next generation of executive leadership must better anticipate and prepare for the future.”

Liz Purdy, a senior adviser for the Biden-Harris campaign in New Hampshire, said it supports efforts to hold accountable anyone who attempts to disrupt elections and remains “hyper vigilant” to disinformation threats.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.