[Updates added below the original post.]
Before getting into the story and the confirmation, a quick reminder of Kentucky law:
Kentucky Law:
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.
On April 9, 2013, the story was:
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's re-election campaign have involved the FBI, asking them to investigate after a secret recording and transcript was published by the far left liberal magazine Mother Jones.
The topic was Ashley Judd and the meeting was held before she publicly decided not to run against McConnell.
It has now been confirmed that none of the participants of the meeting recorded the event and it was recorded by leaders of the Progress Kentucky super PAC, who were in the hallway recording the meeting without consent of of anyone who was part of the private campaign meeting.
Jacob Conway, who is on the executive committee of the Jefferson County Democratic Party, says that day, Shawn Reilly and Curtis Morrison, who founded and volunteered for Progress Kentucky, respectively, bragged to him about how they recorded the meeting.
On the tape, McConnell and his advisors are heard laughing and joking about opposition research they had on actress Ashley Judd, who had been considering running against McConnell next year. Many Democratic groups blasted McConnell for the remarks yesterday, disgusted by the fact McConnell would potentially use Judd's suicidal thoughts as a child against her.
Reilly and Morrison have declined to comment for this story.
On Feb. 2, McConnell opened his campaign headquarters in the Watterson Office Park in Louisville and invited trusted GOP activists and select media outlets to an open house. The event lasted roughly two hours. Afterward, McConnell and several campaign advisors held a strategy session in an office meeting room.
Morrison and Reilly did not attend the open house, but they told Conway they arrived later and were able to hear the meeting from the hallway.
“They were in the hallway after the, I guess after the celebration and hoopla ended, apparently these people broke for lunch and had a strategy meeting, which is, in every campaign I've been affiliated with, makes perfect sense,” says Conway. “One of them held the elevator, the other one did the recording and they left. That was what they told to me from them directly.”
Other sources have corroborated this series of events to WFPL. The meeting room door is next to the elevators on that floor. McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton has told multiple media outlets the door was shut and locked on Feb. 2. But the door has a vent at the bottom and a large gap underneath.
That would make it a felony according to Kentucky law, quoted above.
Mother Jones divulged the recording obtained by writer David Corn, and after the release of the illegally obtained recording, issued a statement, claiming "As the story makes clear, we were recently provided with the tape by a source who wishes to remain anonymous. We published the article on the tape due to its obvious newsworthiness. We were not involved in the making of the tape, but it is our understanding that the tape was not the product of any kind of bugging operation. We cannot comment beyond that, except to say that under the circumstances, our publication of the article is both legal and protected by the First Amendment."
Despite trying to hide behind the First Amendment, the conversation was recorded illegally and Mother Jones did "divulge" the illegally recorded conversation. The Kentucky statute says nothing about their "understanding" of what the tape was a product of. If Mother Jones' source, who wishes to remain anonymous, is connected to Mother Jones or Corn and they knew that source was not in attendance and did not have permission from anyone in attendance, they could be looking at a misdemeanor offense.
H/T The Weekly Standard
[Update]Via TWS, seems the FBI is dotting their I's and crossing their T's:
The FBI is still investigating, and has gone to the McConnell campaign headquarters and pulled video surveillance tape from the building.
Since they already have the names of the people, shouldn't be difficult to match them up with the video surveillance from the building.
[Update] Fox News provides a statement from Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse:
"We would never condone anything like this -- a secret taping. We would never condone it," he said. Woodhouse said he knows nothing about the group in question.
"Our reaction is that we would like the investigation to take its course."
Progress Kentucky has not returned a request for comment.
The FBI is investigating the alleged recording at McConnell's request. A law enforcement official told Fox News the investigation is "moving along," and there are some "people of interest."
[Update] Progress Kentucky official resigns amidst the scandal, via Politico: (H/T Dan Riehl):
Jacob Conway, the Jefferson County Democratic Party’s executive committee member who originally accused Progress Kentucky of making the recording, told NBC News he was on his way to talk to the FBI about the allegations. And the group’s treasurer confirmed he had quit his position after the audio was published.
“At this time based on advice of both friends and counsel, I will be not be making a public statement available until everything has been reviewed by an attorney at this time,” Douglas L. Davis told NBC News. “I have resigned my position as treasurer and did not and do not condone any allegations of illegal activity that might have taken place.”
