Why I secretly recorded Mitch McConnell

[sjacquemotte]

http://www.salon.com/2013/05/31/why_i_secretly_recorded_mitch_mcconnell/


Earlier this year, I secretly made an audio recording of Sen. Mitch McConnell, the most powerful Republican on the planet, at his campaign headquarters in Kentucky. The released portion of the recording clocks in at less than 12 minutes, but those few minutes changed my life.



In a technology age marked by vigilante heroes like Julian Assange and Anonymous, the line between journalism and espionage has grown thin. McConnell was quick to frame himself as the victim of a crime, which was to be expected. It was the guilty repositioning of a politician who has been caught being craven.



Unlike Mitch McConnell, I will not paint myself as a victim. I’ve learned a lot in these weeks. But nothing stung like hearing Yarmuth brush me aside like that. I was so upset that all I could do is go for a long run. Frankly, I had a good cry. And as I pounded away the stress and frustration of that moment, I had to wonder: Did I make a mistake?

[DMX7]

Mitch was a victim!

[Wild Cobra]

Isn't this as illegal as Watergate was?

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

Recording a conversation is legal as long as you're involved in the conversation. Wiretapping a room and recording the conversation you're not a party in is illegal. Idk the details here but that's the basic wiretapping law.

[Wild Cobra]

Interesting link: State-by-State Recording laws Summaries; Kentuky (http://www.spytecinc.com/Kentucky)



It is a felony to overhear or record, through use of an electronic or mechanical device, a wire or oral communication without the consent of at least one party to that communication. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 526.010. A person is guilty of eavesdropping when he intentionally uses any device to eavesdrop, whether or not he is present at the time. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 526.020.

Divulging information obtained through illegal eavesdropping is a separate crime, punishable as a misdemeanor. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 526.060.

Anyone who inadvertently hears a conversation transmitted through a wireless telephone on a radio receiver does not violate the eavesdropping statute, but if that same conversation is recorded or passed on to others without the consent of a party to the original conversation, a violation occurs. Ky. Att’y Gen. Op. 84-310 (1984). This prohibition includes recording any oral communication of others without their consent, so long as the recorder used an eavesdropping device.

A conversation which is loud enough to be heard through the wall or through the heating system without the use of any device is not protected by the statute, since a person who desires privacy can take the steps necessary to ensure that his conversation cannot be overheard by the ordinary ear. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 526.020.


Note that the last sentence says wall or heating system. It does not say door...

[DUNCANownsKOBE]

Interesting link: State-by-State Recording laws Summaries; Kentuky (http://www.spytecinc.com/Kentucky)



Note that the last sentence says wall or heating system. It does not say door...
From the lawyers I know, recording conversations is pretty frowned upon in the justice system regardless. If you're an actual party in the conversation then you can record without much risk, but it's never a smart thing to do. It never looks good at all.

[Wild Cobra]

From the lawyers I know, recording conversations is pretty frowned upon in the justice system regardless. If you're an actual party in the conversation then you can record without much risk, but it's never a smart thing to do. It never looks good at all.
When reporters are reporting about the government taking away our privacy, just who do they think they are to violate other people's privacy?

It wouldn't bother me if he gets jail time. There isn't even anything juicy in it.

Transcript link: Full Transcript and Audio of Mitch McConnell Campaign's Meeting on Ashley Judd (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/04/mcconnell-transcript)

[sjacquemotte]

Recording a conversation Where atleast one person in the conversation knows of the recording is legal .
fixed

[sjacquemotte]

The reason the liberals went against him is they don't want it to start happening to them.

[LnGrrrR]

Recording a conversation is legal as long as you're involved in the conversation. Wiretapping a room and recording the conversation you're not a party in is illegal. Idk the details here but that's the basic wiretapping law.

Its illegal in Mass unless you specifically note it to the other party IIRC.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Two days and no mention of anything substantive.