Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) said that “something close” to the long-rumored “pee tape” exists, saying he “think[s] it’s likely” that Vladimir Putin has something on President Donald Trump. As the first summit between Trump and the Russian president unfolded in Helsinki, Merkley told BuzzFeed’s AM to DM that it was typical behavior of Russian intel to want compromising information on important individuals that visit the country—including pairing up a person with prostitutes and recording everything that happens in their hotel rooms. When asked directly if he thinks the “pee tape is real,” Merkley replied, “Something close to that. Something close to that.” Talk of an alleged “pee tape” surfaced in the infamous dossier assembled by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele, who reported that Russian agents recorded Trump in Moscow being part of a “golden showers” act on a hotel bed once slept in by Barack and Michelle Obama.