A staffer for the senator responded to the email and proposed a date and time for a phone call between Shaheen and Rinkevičs. The supposed Latvian official, who called himself “Arturs Vaiders” and listed his job title as the “second secretary of the state protocol,” agreed.

But before the call could take place, Shaheen’s office contacted the Latvian embassy to confirm Vaiders’ bona fides. The embassy responded that the outreach attempt was fake.

Mystery Sting Targets U.S. Senator for Dirt on Russia Sanctions

hmmmm