Intruder Spent 11 Hours at GOP Policy Retreat

Woman allegedly leaked recordings of meetings
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 1, 2017 11:51 AM CST
Intruder Spent 11 Hours at GOP Policy Retreat
Sen. John McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham are seen at Thursday's annual policy retreat in Philadelphia.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Private conversations among Republican lawmakers during a policy retreat last week at a Philadelphia hotel were secretly recorded and shared with media outlets. But the leak isn't upsetting lawmakers so much as the circumstances around it. A woman posing as the wife of a member of Congress managed to get in with fake credentials and mingle at the event—attended by the president, vice president, and other top Republicans—for about 11 hours before she was ejected, reports the Washington Post. The Hill reports the woman has been identified, though her name has not been released as the criminal investigation continues. She anonymously emailed her recordings to media outlets.

“Someone trespassed at an event where the president and the vice president were present," says attendee Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Florida. "That’s certainly concerning." The Secret Service says neither President Trump nor Vice President Pence were in physical danger, though comments by Pence were among those recorded. The group that ran the retreat, the Congressional Institute, says it is beefing up security protocol to avoid a repeat infiltrator. The leaked conversations included internal disagreements about ObamaCare. (More GOP stories.)

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