Republican leaders in the House are investigating how one of their meetings was secretly recorded last year and leaked to the media — which included an infamous claim by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy about President Donald Trump.
The Hill reports that the focus is on former CIA officer Evan McMullin, who was present at the meeting that occurred on June 15. McMullin later ran for president as an independent and got roughly 730,000 votes.
According to the Hill, Republicans would like to take action against whoever leaked the tape during which McCarthy can be heard accusing Trump of being on Russia's payroll — a claim he later said was a joke. The investigation is exploring which federal statutes of House rules may have been violated.
"I believe it is important that these questions get answered," a GOP lawmaker told the Hill. "I suspect this is only going to become more and more common."
There is also growing concern about privacy during meetings moving forward in the age of smartphones. Secretly recording a conversation is as simple as tapping record on a smartphone and leaving the device in your pocket.
"Any meeting I go into, I assume it's going to be recorded and reported," Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., told the Hill. "There are no private meetings in this modern day and age."
Trump's presidency has been plagued by leaks in all areas of the government, from the executive branch all the way over to the intelligence community. Some of them are causing damage.
The New York Times published leaked photos of the crime scene after the Manchester terror attack earlier this week, which prompted the British government to threaten to stop sharing intelligence with U.S. authorities.
Trump promised to "get to the bottom" of that leak and others that occur in Washington on a daily basis.
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