Rep. Maxine Waters' GOP challenger has a date with the FBI about a forged letter

Omar Navarro, congressional candidate
(Image credit: John Sciulli/Getty Images for Politicon)

Maybe if Omar Navarro ever makes it to Congress, he can try to change the federal laws that prohibit impersonating a federal official and misusing a federal seal. In the meantime, he is scheduled to meet with the FBI on Wednesday to argue that he did nothing wrong by tweeting a forged letter purporting to be from Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who he's running against in the midterms. The letter appears to be on stationery from Waters' House office and includes her signature and some inaccuracies about her committee assignments and other facts. Navarro, a Republican, posted it in December and the tweet is still up, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Navarro, a popular far-right media personality, said somebody sent his campaign the letter on Facebook and he didn't vet it before posting it to Twitter. "I don't know why they are looking into me since I'm not the one who fabricated the letter," Navarro told the Times on Monday. In the letter, the fake Waters discuses her plans to relocate 41,000 refugees in her district after the election, "and perhaps even once I have secured the speaker of the House position."

Waters, who is running for a 15th term, got 72 percent of the vote in California's top-two primary. Navarro came in second with 14 percent.

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Peter Weber

Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.