【Ava Fabian Archives】

What follows is Ava Fabian Archivesan account of something that can, honestly, happen to anyone: getting prank called. Except in this case, the prank callers were Russian and the victim was Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who proceeded to have a 20-minute call with said pranksters over energy policy.

To repeat: a member of Trump's cabinet was pranked (twice, as it turns out) by a pair of Russians.

It's as if 2016 left a bag of dog poop on 2017's doorstep, set it on fire, and hid in the bushes while 2017 jumped up and down to put the fire out, getting dog poop on the entire world in the process.

SEE ALSO: Twitter schools Rick Perry on basic economics after he speaks at a coal plant

In the video below, originally published on Russian news site Vesti, you can hear Rick Perry talk with who he thinks is Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman about developing oil and gas fields in Ukraine, the decision to back out of the Paris climate agreement, and many other things.

Only that's not the Ukrainian Prime Minister speaking! It's Vladimir “Vovan” Krasnov and Alexei “Lexus” Stolyarov, who have pranked high ranking officials and celebrities like Elton John before.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

According to the Washington Post, timing probably played a part in Perry getting fooled not just once, but twice.

On June 20, Perry hosted Groysman and his delegation at the Department of Energy, a meeting that was widely reported in the Ukrainian press, according to the DOE.

Three weeks later, the department received a request for a phone follow-up with the Ukrainian prime minster. That phone call was bogus. So was the lengthier call with Perry that followed on July 19.

Following the revelation that "HA HA YOU DONE GOT PUNK'D, RICK!" a spokesperson from the Department of Energy told the Post, “Secretary Perry is the latest target of two Russian pranksters. These individuals are known for pranking high level officials and celebrities, particularly those who are supportive of an agenda that is not in line with their governments. In this case, the energy security of Ukraine.”

Mashablehas reached out to both Secretary Perry and the Department of Energy for further comment.

I know we're in a new era of relations with Russians seeing as how the country had more influence in the 2016 presidential election than the citizens of Delaware with their whopping 3 electoral college votes but HOW DO A PAIR OF RUSSIAN RAPSCALLIONS GET A CABINET MEMBER ON THE PHONE? TWICE??

Granted, it doesn't sound like Perry gave away any deep, dark secrets, but still. How does this happen? And how many times have pranksters reached a sitting cabinet member before?

Via Giphy

The whole thing gives me such a headache I want to wander the desert high on peyote for the next three-and-a-half-years because I'll at least have a head start when a guy living in Queens pretending to be Kim Jong-un manages to prank Trump and triggers World War 3.

---

Featured Video For You

---

The touching, true tale of how a tiger and goat became best friends

---

• Deals
• Games
• Life
• Tech
• Science
• Entertainment
• Digital Culture
• Shopping

• Techies and Tankies
• Amazon's Joe Lewis and Conrad Riggs exit after Roy Price's resignation
• ESPN cancels show because of its association with Barstool Sports
• Original Xbox games are coming to Xbox One, and you can use old discs to play them
• Faster, Higher, Stronger, More Harmonious
• 'Pay with Google' wants to take the forms out of online shopping
• Twitter's ad 'Transparency Center' isn't enough
• Trump gets trolled by a nerd in congress and a Wikipedia Twitter bot
• Heart in a Black Box
• Nintendo's 'Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp' is downloadable in Australia early

• 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for November 20
• Wordle today: Here's the answer, hints for November 19
• DuckDuckGo adds App Tracking Protection for all Android users
• Qatar vs. Ecuador livestream: Watch World Cup 2022 Group A
• Google launches new search features for finding food near you
• Robert Yang, the creator behind the best sex games, talks art, intimacy, and gay culture
• Bad movies are an underrated pleasure in friendships
• One of SpongeBob's most iconic looks is now a really good meme
• Mothers are lonely right now, according to friendship app Peanut
• The Trump family visit to the UK is getting meme'd to hell

• NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for May 24: Tips to solve Connections #243
• Social media inflames violent hatred of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar
• Matt Damon admits to knowing about Weinstein's sexual harassment for decades
• Western heat wave could lead to hottest World Series game on record
• Hang-Ups
• ESPN cancels show because of its association with Barstool Sports
• Google brings over 50 family games to Google Assistant
• On National Bologna Day, let's all take a moment to mourn the great American bologna sandwich
• Imagine Dragons
• Atlanta could beat the odds to nab Amazon's HQ2, according to this gambling site

• The Never-ending Story
• Matt Damon admits to knowing about Weinstein's sexual harassment for decades
• 'Stranger Things' Spotify Easter egg will take you to the Upside Down
• A man flew across South Africa strapped to balloons in 'Up'
• The Queer Art of Failing Better
• Google brings over 50 family games to Google Assistant
• Matt Damon admits to knowing about Weinstein's sexual harassment for decades
• 'Last Jedi' director drops hints about Leia's fate
• Condo-Maximum
• Canada just banned Soylent, Silicon Valley's favorite meal replacement shake