Donald Trump allegedly tapped phone lines at Mar-a-Lago

Donald Trump may have eavesdropped on his employees.

(Image credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

last updated 30 June 2016

Six former Mar-a-Lago employees told BuzzFeed that Donald Trump had the ability to tap into every phone at the Palm Beach resort, and that he did so to eavesdrop on his staff throughout the mid-2000s.

[Four employees speaking to BuzzFeed anonymously] said [Trump] listened in on calls between club employees or, in some cases, between staff and guests. None of them knew of Trump eavesdropping on guests or members talking on private calls with people who were not employees of Mar-a-Lago. They also said that Trump could eavesdrop only on calls made on the club's landlines and not on calls made from guests' cell phones.Each of these four sources said they personally saw the telephone console, which some referred to as a switchboard, in Trump's bedroom. [BuzzFeed]

Trump's spokeswoman denied the switchboard rumors, telling BuzzFeed such claims were "totally and completely untrue." Read the sources' accounts of the Mar-a-Lago tapping at BuzzFeed.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.