White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer reportedly ordered that staffers’ personal and work phones be checked in an effort to crack down on leaks. Politico, citing sources in the room, reported that Spicer told a group of communications aides that he was unhappy that information from his past meetings with them was getting out to the press. Staffers were reportedly told to place their phones on a table “to prove they had nothing to hide,” Politico reported. The move was done in consultation with White House counsel Don McGahn, and Spicer reportedly warned staffers that using encrypted messaging apps such as Confide and Signal would be a violation of the Federal Records Act. Spicer declined to comment to Politico.
