Trump Aides Evacuated Offices After Prank Sparked Bugging Fears

Watergate this was not.

Last week, the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee offices in West Palm Beach, Fla., were abuzz with talk of listening devices and espionage, possibly by a foreign government. The police were called and the offices were closed for a forensic search.

The reality was more Charlie Chaplin than John le Carré.

A plastic prank device that can be purchased on Amazon for $13.97 was the cause of the problem.

A police report from the West Palm Beach police department, obtained by The New York Times, detailed the incident. Devices were found on Thursday after people heard beeping under a staff member’s desk at the Trump campaign offices. When Trump officials searched, they found additional devices, for a total of three.

“FOUND POTENTIAL LISTENING DEVICES // HEARD BEEPING BY DESKS // INTERNAL SECURITY ALSO FOUND DEVICE,” the police report reads. The person making the report, according to the document, “THINKS THEY HAVE FOUND LISTENING DEVICES ‘BUGS; IN THE OFFICE.’”

Despite the police presence, officials determined quickly that the devices were likely a prank. No one has owned up to the prank, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

A Trump spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The police report said that “about fifty employees evacuated the suites.” The security official who works for the offices in the building told the police he believed “the devices were part of a prank. The suites were canvassed for any additional devices and evidence yielding negative results,” according to the document.

The campaign faced an email hacking earlier this summer, which officials have blamed on Iranians. The F.B.I. has confirmed that Iran attempted to hack both the Trump