U.S. Capitol Police are continuing to investigate the filming of a sex tape inside a prominent hearing room at the Hart Senate Office Building, a source told Fox News on Monday.
Fox has learned that the Senate sex tape was recorded last week. But time of day is unclear. A Congressional security source is promising a “thorough investigation” with interviews upcoming.
While there are currently no pending charges in the case, a security source did not rule out the possibility.
The investigation comes after a staffer filmed an amateur pornography video inside a Senate hearing room. The identities of the men in the video have not been confirmed. The Daily Caller, which broke news of the video, reported that the footage was leaked in a chat and was “shared in a private group for gay men in politics.”
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U.S. Capitol Police are continuing to investigate the filming of a sex tape inside a prominent hearing room at the Hart Senate Office Building, a source told Fox News on Monday. (Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Room 216 in the Hart Senate Office Building is a storied hearing room. The dais where the graphic video was filmed is a place from which U.S. senators have grilled high-profile presidential nominees, including those who would go on to become justices of the Supreme Court.
Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley, an attorney and professor at George Washington University Law, discussed possible charges that could be brought last week. Turley said, “the question is whether this unofficial use would constitute trespass.”
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“It also uses an official area for personal purposes, though it is not clear if there were any commercial benefits garnered from the video found on various sites,” Turley wrote.
Sen. Ben Cardin’s office says the staffer involved in the filming of a sex tape is no longer with the office. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Turley said one possible charge could fall under D.C. code section 22-1312, which discusses lewd, indecent or obscene acts.
“It is unlawful for a person, in public, to make an obscene or indecent exposure of his or her genitalia or anus, to engage in masturbation, or to engage in a sexual act as defined in § 22-3001(8). It is unlawful for a person to make an obscene or indecent sexual proposal to a minor. A person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, imprisoned for not more than 90 days, or both,” the criminal code states.
A hearing room in the Hart Senate Office Building. (Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Turley says the question regarding charges falling under this section would be whether a locked Senate committee room is considered “in public.”
Whether or not any video filmed in the hearing room was used to make money could also “have bearing on potential charges,” Turley argued.
Fox News’ Adam Sabes and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report