Leaks are still happening and this time it involves Sean Spicer allegedly rounding up Cell Phones. You can almost see Melissa McCarthy now, dressed in an ill-fitting brown men’s suit, snatching up electronic devices for random checks and proof of disloyalty. The task of snuffing out leaks to the press comes after a flood of information made its way to various media outlets. President Trump demands to know the names of these phantom leakers sneaking around in the dark divulging secrets in their best “Deepthroat” voices. Well, that part may be exaggerated, but the push by the Trump administration to find these unnamed sources is real.
Are we seeing signs of extreme precaution or paranoia?
Reportedly, Sean Spicer met with a group of staffers to express his frustration over private White House conversations making headlines in the news. This, according to a source who was present. Yes, that’s right. Desperate and worried people will leak out information for the country right up until the bitter end. According to said source, staffers were summoned to an “emergency meeting” and were instructed to dump their phones (work and personal) on a table to be checked out in order to prove they had nothing to hide. To make things more intimidating and/or legal-looking, Spicer was joined at the meeting by White House attorneys.
Staffers were warned against using texting apps such as:
- Confide – an encrypted screen shot app that automatically deletes texts once sent.
- Signal – also an encrypted message system.
Usage of both apps would be a violation of the Presidential Records Act.
Can anything fix this?
The Washington Post recently posted a four-page memo issued by the State Department’s legal office which warned of the dangers of leaks. During the meeting, staffers were ordered to turn over all other electronic device they had in their possession. With the White House obviously frantic over persistent talks about Russia and the Trump administration, leaks will likely continue until that pressure-cooker top blows off.
