NEA "Scandal": Secretly Taped Conversation Appears to Have Violated State Laws

Filmmaker and art community consultant Patrick Courrielche has made a quite a splash on conservative talk shows by releasing audio clips and transcripts of a conference call that occurred August 10. The purpose of call, which was attended by artists, NEA staff, White House Office of Public Engagement and members of United We Serve, was to discuss engaging communities in the ideas of service, health care, education, and energy and the environment through the use of art.

But he has not been been forthcoming about how he came to have the recorded conversations, which may be a way of invoking his right to self-protection, since recording that call was illegal in several states where the participants are based.

ABC News reports that Courrielche "secretly recorded" the call.

Courrielche's business is listed in Los Angeles, California; the business has a Los Angeles-based phone number. At least fifteen of the participants were calling in from California, which has very strict eavesdropping and communication interception laws, stating that all parties on the call must be informed and aware that the call is being recorded.

Three participants were from Pennsylvania and three from Illinois, states which have laws similar to California's.

Again no one asked for consent to record the call nor was consent given. To secretly record a conference call and then disseminate the information is clearly reprehensible and unethical at a minimum. It is an "ends justifies the means" mentality and a cavalier approach to the law that marked the practices of the previous administration. Whether Courrielche will be prosecuted for violating California law remains to be seen, but committing a crime in pursuit of exposing what possibly, just maybe, could be some kind of a violation is no small thing.

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Lisa Derrick is La Figa at Firedoglake.com

Follow Lisa Derrick on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lalisa93

Comments

[Nothing New]

02:12 PM on 10/06/2009

It's amazing that the NEA-sayers of what PC did convenient­ly overlook the fact that taxpayers are paying for this garbage to promote the Obama Administra­tion and breaking several laws themselves­, which has far graver consequenc­es. I beg you to tell me what the left would do if it were Bush doing this and what the reaction would be? Never mind that art is grossly misreprese­nted by politicizi­ng it with propaganda (post-mode­rn war era). Politics and art is like a fly in perfume. Patrick Courrielch­e is an American hero of exposing the corruption­.

[Panola60]

03:17 PM on 09/25/2009

This administra­tion was trying to use the NEA, which is funded largely by taxpayers, to provide propaganda for their agenda. This is in direct violation of several laws PLUS it is highly unethical.

Good heavens, this administra­tion is really, really corrupt.

[Lisa Derrick]

10:46 AM on 09/24/2009

Two wrong don't make a right.

The call was recorded without permission or consent. Recording a call involving participan­ts in CA requires the permission of both parties. PA and IL have similar laws.

Recall if you will an incident from 1996, as reported by the Media Institute, which involved a conversati­on accidental­ly overheard and recorded:

Rep. John Boehner was on his cell phone while driving. The call included Reps. Dick Army and Tom DeLay, and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. The participan­ts discussed strategy regarding an expected Ethics Subcommitt­ee announceme­nt of Rep. Gingrich’s agreement to accept a reprimand and to pay a fine in exchange for the committee’­s promise not to hold a hearing.

John and Alice Martin, who lived in Florida, were using their scanner and recognized Gringrich'­s voice, then tape recorded the call. On Jan. 8, 1997, the Martins personally delivered the tape to Rep. McDermott because he was the ranking Democratic member of the House Ethics Committee. McDermott released the tape to the media.

The Justice Department prosecuted the Martins, who pled guilty to violating the federal statute and paid a $500 fine. (http://www­.mediainst­itute.org/­ONLINE/FAM­2003/5-b.h­tml)

There are more details in the SCOTUS blog (http://www­.scotusblo­g.com/wp/c­onference-­call-boehn­er-mcdermo­tt-suit-ba­ck-before-­justices/)

[Solitary Man]

04:41 PM on 09/23/2009

Im really happy for you and I'm gonna let you finish but - all the BS left/right crap aside; this is a conflict of interest, wrong and illegal on many counts. what Yoshi did was wrong he was removed. if people of progressiv­e persuasion can say government corruption is justified then our country is in for a rough ride... read the whole transcript­... taste the wrong! Defending it by claiming it was illegal to tape the conversati­on? Ok this could possibly true, but please don’t lose site of the injustice done to the taxpayers here.
Use of a government funded agency to further an agenda isn’t the way to get things done.

[playback]

09:08 AM on 09/23/2009

NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman sends the following statement to HuffPost:

Fact 3: This call was not a means to promote any legislativ­e agenda and any suggestion­s to that end are simply false. Rather, the call was to inform members of the arts community of an opportunit­y to become involved in volunteeri­sm.

Fact 4: Some of the language used by the former NEA Director of Communicat­ions was, unfortunat­ely, not appropriat­e and did not reflect the position of the NEA. This employee has been relieved of his duties as director of communicat­ions.

Fact 5: This call was completely unrelated to NEA’s grantmakin­g, which is highly regarded for its independen­ce and integrity. Artistic quality, excellence and merit are the guidelines for decision-m­aking; favoritism or political affiliatio­n plays no role in NEA grantmakin­g.

The NEA official, Yosi Sargent was demoted for his inappropri­ate "language"­. A punishment that fits the level of malefactio­n. It seems some conservati­ves will not be happy until there is a lynching. Yosi got a little carried away which lead to a small ethical breach; while Courrielch­e's partisansh­ip carried him to the point of clearly breaking the law.

Where were these same cons when Bush was actually using tax payer dollars to produce highly partisan and false news reports,
Bush ‘planted fake news stories on American TV’

http://www­.independe­nt.co.uk/n­ews/world/­americas/b­ush-plante­d-fake-new­s-stories-­on-america­n-tv-48017­2.html

[BethinIllinois]

05:50 AM on 09/23/2009

So it apparently doesn't bother you that the NEA and the White House were strong-arm­ing artists into supporting their agenda?

In the recording, don't forget, there's that little matter of the "specific asks" that were being ... asked! ... of the artists -- all, coincinden­tally! backing the Obama agenda.

I love the arts. But I'd prefer it be the artist's vision, and not Obama's.

Could you put a little bit of your outrage toward a White House that promised to be different, and better, and is probably worse?

[Matt Osborne]

02:30 PM on 09/23/2009

"Strong-ar­ming." What part of "please consider ways to promote health care, education, and green energy themes" is "strong-ar­ming"?

How are health care, education, and green energy "Obama's vision"? Who is in favor of sickness, ignorance, and pollution?

There was no pressure on anyone in this call. Your outrage is artificial and misplaced.

[rasqual]

05:35 PM on 09/23/2009

"There was no pressure on anyone in this call."

I agree. It was definitely one big, happy, cooperativ­e, "it takes a village", collective family on the same page.