There is speculation that Mitt Romney used something similar to the commercially available “Audio Spotlight” to receive whispered messages during the MSNBC debate of Republican primary candidates in 2008. The technology is a focused sound beam that can be heard only by a targeted person. Unfortunately for the users if a microphone is in the way of the narrowly focused beam it will also pick up what they believe is a private communication.

Listen to the following tape, particularly around the 9-10 second mark to hear a whispered phrase just before Mr. Romney answered moderator Tim Russert’s question.