January 1, Security Concerns Escalate After Man Secretly Records Senate Republicans ‘For Hours’

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1967: 1st time Jimi Hendrix burns his guitar (and his fingers) at Finsbury Park Astoria theater in London.

Security officials had to make some serious changes after a man allegedly recorded a closed-door Senate Republican lunch meeting for hours on-end.

“It’s really concerning,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). “Those conversations are an opportunity for senators to talk candidly about issues. So to have people on record and easily identifiable by their voices is problematic.”

The suspect, a 25-year-old contract employee from Maryland, told U.S. Capitol Police officers that he’d left his phone in the lunch room and had been recording audio of the March 7 meeting “for multiple hours.” By the time he and a police escort returned to retrieve his phone, a senator had already noticed it and turned it over to the authorities.

“It was a temporary person hired on by the food service people. The phone was left in the record mode found in the food line,” said Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY). “It’s very concerning.” 

The Maryland man also told police that he’d also “gathered trash” from the Senate GOP lunch meeting, including “a slideshow of information that was talked about in the event,” according to court documents.

The man was charged with misdemeanor “interception/use of a wiretap,” but it was later dismissed.

After the alarming incident, security officials implemented new protocols for contractors and service staff members, including a rule requiring workers to leave their cellphones in cabinets located outside of the meeting rooms before entering.

Both Senate parties hold weekly lunch meetings in the Capitol, and the conversations are not meant for public consumption.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) called the incident “worrisome.”

“I am very concerned that it’s someone in close proximity of the building and the members, some of whom have personal security assigned to them,” Capito said.

The 25-year-old man claimed that he “wanted to provide his ‘wife’ the Vice President of Liberia with American political information.” It’s important to note, however, that there aren’t any records that indicate the catering employee is married to the Liberian vice president.

“I think it was kind of a one-off thing,” said Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.). “The question I had was did anyone put him up to it? And to my knowledge, the answer is no.”

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Source: New York Post