CAMBRIDGE, Md. - “Get an officer in here.”
That’s what Rep. Andy Harris (MD-1) said about University of Maryland graduate student journalist Cat Murphy Tuesday night as he took questions after a rare forum with Democratic challenger Dan Schwartz in Cambridge.
Harris accused Murphy of violating two-party consent law while she recorded him during the Q&A session.
Rep. Andy Harris accuses Maryland student journalist of breaking the law while recording him during a Q+A session in Cambridge, 10/13.
The confrontation reportedly started with the Baltimore Banner asking Harris why he came to the forum. He asked the journalist who they worked for, and said he does not talk to the Baltimore Banner because of one of their columnists.
He then went to take a question from Murphy, who said he should respect the Baltimore Banner’s questions as much as hers.
The question-and-answer session went on for a little longer, with someone asking him about diesel prices and the war with Iran.
Murphy then tried to ask a follow-up question, and Harris pointed at her, “I’m not answering a question to you.”
“You do not have my permission to record,” he then told the student journalist, continually pointing at her. “If you record, we will refer you to the prosecutor.”
She responded, saying everyone else in the room was also recording.
That’s when Harris said they are in a two-party state, claiming she is not allowed to record him without his permission. Two-party consent is required to record someone in Maryland, but only if there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.
This is where some of the other journalists in the room jumped in, arguing there is no privacy expectation, because it is a public forum.
Harris then asked one of the journalists who challenged his claims, “Do you know the law?”
Murphy again tried to ask her question about the war with Iran, leading to Harris motioning to someone in the room, saying, “You’re going to have to take her camera. She is violating the law. In fact, get an officer in here.”
Murphy responded saying they are in public. Harris said that it doesn’t make a difference “whatsoever.”
Murphy then asked the Congressman, “You said that you supported the First Amendment. What does this say about that?”
Harris turned away and declared, “She’s ruining all your chances to get an answer about anything,” ending the Q&A.
After the event that night, Rep. Harris took to Facebook.
Today, Cat Murphy was on CNN, being interviewed by Jake Tapper. Tapper asked her if this interaction made her want to go into journalism more or less.
She responded, "I have no intention of stopping covering [Harris] or not going into journalism."
Andy Harris is currently the U.S. representative for Maryland’s 1st District, a position he’s held for 15 years since 2011. He has been the only Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation since 2012.
He serves the entirety of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, as well as Harford County and parts of Baltimore County.
From 1998 to 2010, he served in the Maryland Senate.
He is up for re-election in November, facing democrat Dan Schwartz, who has a history of working with state and federal regulators in consumer protections.
