The Volokh Conspiracy
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Did SCOTUS Partially Edit Out The Toilet Flush?
I hear subtle differences
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants Inc. Around the 59:40 mark, there was an audible toilet flush in the background. The C-SPAN clip went viral:
LISTEN: Toilet flush during U.S. Supreme Court oral argument (h/t @nicninh) pic.twitter.com/He3QGMzvJI
— Jeremy Art (@cspanJeremy) May 6, 2020
The Supreme Court posted the audio the same day, which is now on Oyez. I've cropped out the relevant segment.
I hear subtle differences, but I may have listened to these clips far too many times, Zapruder style.
Here is the full text:
"And what the FCC has said is that when the subject matter of the call ranges to such topics then the call is transformed."
From the C-SPAN recording:
- When Martinez says "subject," you hear someone pulling the toilet handle.
- When Martinez says "ranges," you hear the water start to flow.
- When Marintez says "transformed," the water sound fades.
From the SCOTUS recording there are several breaks in the audio, and when Martinez says "topics," his voice gets echoey. Am I hearing things?
