Silke Jasso
After information from a meeting of about 12 of his own staffers leaked to the media, Press Secretary Sean Spicer summoned them to a meeting with White House attorneys and forced them to turn over every digital device in their possession for a “check” to prove they had “nothing to hide.” At press time, it’s not clear whether anything compromising was found in the search.
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The search included any devices staffers had with them, including personal and government devices. Spicer warned staffers that using encrypted messaging apps like Signal, Whisper, Wickr and Confide were violations of the Federal Records Act.
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The account, ironically, is a leak itself. It comes from several anonymous sources to Politico and is the latest in a stream of leaks from within the Trump Administration that paint an anonymously-sourced, unflattering picture of the Trump White House.
In the face of story after story about his team and their relationship to Russia, Donald Trump has decried the near-constant leaks as illegal and cut off some access to news outlets that have been most eager to publish leaks from inside the administration and intelligence community.
Back at the meeting, after searching the devices of everyone present, Spicer allegedly warned staffers that more consequences would come from leaking information about that meeting and the phone check.
