Emanuel: Taping of Reporters “Much Ado About Nothing”
From the Chicago Tribune
After incidents in which phone conversations with Chicago Tribune reporters were recorded without their consent by City Hall officials, a city attorney has insisted that there is no widespread practice of such taping and that steps have been taken to ensure it does not happen again.
Recording a conversation without the consent of all parties is a felony in Illinois . . .
. . . Last month, the city turned over to the plaintiff's lawyers an audio recording and transcript of the conference call showing no evidence that McCarthy or Hamilton sought consent to record the Tribune reporters.
"Absent from the audio and the transcript was evidence of the parties' consent," according to a court filing last week by the plaintiff's attorney, Craig Sandberg. The filing also notes that during the deposition, McCarthy was asked about the circumstances surrounding the recording.
"Supt. McCarthy testified that Sarah Hamilton (now press secretary for Mayor Rahm Emanuel) made the audio recording," the motion states. It continued, "Supt. McCarthy confirmed that he (personally) did not obtain consent to record the telephone conference from Messrs. Mills and Gorner. He did not know whether Ms. Hamilton obtained consent from Messrs. Mills and Gorner."
The three Tribune reporters said Friday they do not recall any request for consent to record the interview . . .
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