Rep. Andy Harris threatened student reporter with prosecution for recording him
Andy Harris, a Republican in the House, threatened to have a student reporter charged for taping him after a debate, NBC News and ABC News reported. Other reporters in the room were taping too. In an interview with Fox45, Harris later said he had pushed back at "the liberal media."
Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., threatened to have a student reporter prosecuted for recording him at a press gaggle after a debate Tuesday in Cambridge, Maryland, NBC News, ABC News and the Washington Examiner reported. Other journalists in the room were also recording, NBC News and ABC News reported.
"You do not have my permission to record! If you record, we will refer you to the prosecutor," Harris said, according to NBC News. The reporter, Cat Murphy, reports for Capital News Service, ABC News and the Washington Examiner reported. "Everyone in here is recording," she replied, according to NBC News and ABC News.
Harris cited Maryland's two-party consent law, NBC News and ABC News reported. That law covers private conversations, not settings with no reasonable expectation of privacy, NBC News reported. "A congressman speaking to journalists in a press conference has no reasonable expectation that his remarks are private," Annapolis lawyer Joyce Smithey said, according to ABC News. Kevin Goldberg of the Freedom Forum, a First Amendment group, said the law would not apply in this case, NBC News reported.
Harris called for an officer and then left the room, ABC News and the Washington Examiner reported. Murphy had been trying to ask him about the war with Iran, NBC News and ABC News reported.
In an interview with Fox45 in Baltimore, Harris defended his actions, Fox45 and the Washington Examiner reported. "The bottom line is it's not very newsworthy that the liberal media badgers a conservative politician," Harris said, according to the Examiner. "What was newsworthy is that I actually pushed back against it." Asked whether he owed Murphy an apology, he said he would tell her what bothered him if she called, Fox45 reported. "She's a journalism student. I think she should realize that's not really your purpose," he said, according to Fox45.
Harris is seeking a ninth term against Democrat Dan Schwartz, NBC News and ABC News reported. Schwartz said Harris was "much more interested in picking fights and spinning his story than offering real answers," NBC News reported.
What we know: Harris threatened a student reporter with prosecution and has defended his actions.
What we don't: Whether Harris and Murphy will speak, and whether he will apologize.
Where outlets agree NBC News, ABC News and the Washington Examiner all report that Harris threatened a student reporter with prosecution for recording him while other reporters were also recording.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.