Hart Senate Office Building Room 216 as it was set up for the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. (Photo by Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
U.S. Capitol Police told Fox News they were aware of an amateur pornographic video published by the Daily Caller late Friday. The extremely graphic footage shows someone identified as a congressional staffer having sex with another man on the dais in hearing room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building.
The identities of the men in the video have not been confirmed. The Daily Caller reported that the video was leaked in a chat and was “shared in a private group for gay men in politics.”
A senior Congressional official told Fox News that if the sex acts were consensual, “no crime was committed,” regardless of the locale.
FOX News contributor Jonathan Turley suggested in a blog post that the individuals seen in the video could face potential criminal charges, even if the act was consensual.
According to Turley, the charges would hinge on whether the unofficial use of a Senate hearing room would constitute trespass.
“One obvious criminal provision under the D.C. code is Section 22-1312 for lewd, indecent, or obscene acts,” Turley wrote.
Room 216 in the Hart Senate Office Building is a famous 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 justices of the Supreme Court.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
