Such a recording could fall into a legal gray area. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press articulates the law in Kentucky:

It is a felony to overhear or record, through use of an electronic or mechanical device, an oral communication without the consent of at least one party to that communication. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 526.020. A conversation which is loud enough to be heard through the wall or through the heating system without the use of any device is not protected by the statute, since a person who desires privacy can take the steps necessary to ensure that his conversation cannot be overheard by the ordinary ear. Id.

If the campaign headquarters was publicly accessible and the conversation audible from the hallway, the alleged recording by Progress Kentucky may have been legal.

Whether or not it was ethical is a different question. The McConnell camp should certainly have been more careful in ensuring privacy before beginning the meeting, but attitudes toward whether or not the recording was fair game will probably be split along partisan lines.

KFPL wonders why it took so long for the recording to be leaked. Mother Jones indicated that it cleared the tape with its lawyers prior to publishing it, which could account for some of the delay.

One thing the leak won't affect at this point is a McConnell-Judd race, given that Judd decided not to run. It is likely to affect McConnell's upcoming race against whatever Democrat emerges — the entire affair has yielded him a healthy amount of good will and some amount of campaign contributions.

Probably not what Progress Kentucky would have wanted. But they're used to hot water.

Update, 3:00 p.m.: Talking Points Memo recorded an interview between Conway and Fox News.

A necessary mea culpa: If today's report out of Louisville is accurate, which it appears to be, my prediction was wrong. I posited that a staffer from the research firm had recorded it. Apparently not.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.