Frisco Councilwoman Admits to Secret Recordings: "I Alone Bear the Responsibility"

In roughly a month, Tammy Meinershagen will find out whether she gets to keep her position on the Frisco City Council. However, a discussion she admits took place in a private setting might pose some issues.

“As individuals in leadership roles, we must adhere to a stricter code,” she stated. “It’s essential for us to listen attentively, show compassion, and share our genuine viewpoints.”

Councilwoman addresses leaked recordings

On Monday, the 49-year-old deputy mayor pro tem and Place 2 city council member took to social media to address a set of covert recordings unveiled by the online platform Frisco Chronicles-Whistleblower on Thursday, May 2, just one day prior to the election.

In the recordings, Meinershagen shared her views on firefighters reaching out regarding her campaign, comments about fellow council members, Native Americans residing and working in Frisco, as well as additional topics.

When we err, we should take responsibility for our actions," Meinershagen stated. "Not long ago, I was invited to a friend’s place and decided to open up about my journey, including my challenges — both positive and negative aspects of serving on the council. I laid everything out candidly.

Investigating edited recordings

CBS News Texas forwarded the audio recordings to our CBS Confirms Team, who promptly identified an observation: The sequence of videos had been altered. Severalaudio edits were quite noticeable.

The CBS Verification Team reached out to the Whistleblower from the Frisco Chronicle to obtain the initial recordings for an in-depth analysis to ascertain whether artificial intelligence played a role.

"We received the conversation from a confidential source. It was from a conversation between two parties that took place earlier this year in a private home in Frisco. It was recorded by one of the individuals in the conversation via their iPhone voice recording app. We used a voice comparison app to confirm and verify that it was current Council Member Tammy Meinershagen. To obtain the tapes, we had to agree to remove the second party's voice to protect them. We deliberated on releasing it, but we truly feel that with the political climate in Frisco at an all-time high, voters have the right to know what is truly in the hearts of those we intend to elect. Our goal is simple: We are not here for revenge against any one person or place. We are strictly here to tell the truth wherever it takes us, regardless of who it is about. We believe in always protecting our sources and will never disclose who sent the information and/or how we received it."

Meinershagen pledges to mend fences with words following his apology.

Apart from AI, Meinershagen held onto the words and faced a challenging path forward, particularly since she had to enter a runoff election.

“I believed it would be a secure environment, yet it wasn’t,” she stated. “The mistake was entirely mine, and I accept responsibility for it. Words have the power to cause significant pain, and I genuinely apologize to everyone I’ve wounded with my speech.”

Meinershagen stated that her intention is to utilize words for therapeutic purposes as she prepares for the difficult discussions forthcoming.