They claimed the actual extortion took place over the phone. The closest he gets to acknowledging it in those texts is mentioning %. I would be curious if that is enough evidence. Pretty stupid behavior, either way.
WCUS took place in Oregon where both sides of that phone call would have been located. As far as I know while Oregon is two-party consent in most cases, only one party needs to consent to record a phone call.
Given the apparent escalation, I would be surprised if the WP Engine people hadn't consulted with legal and started recording calls during the event if it was legal to do so.
Given the apparent escalation, I would be surprised if the WP Engine people hadn't consulted with legal and started recording calls during the event if it was legal to do so.