title:  Paul Ryan Is FREAKING OUT After Leaked Tapes Surface, TERRIFIED Of What’s Coming Next
text: Earlier this week, audio surfaced of Paul Ryan and some of his Republican cronies joking that Donald Trump is on Vladimir Putin s payroll. The Speaker of the House is now both furious and scared shitless about what damaging information might be leaked next.Speaking to conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt, Ryan said that being recorded and caught red handed is all new territory for him. I ve never seen anything like this,  Ryan said.  There was somebody who taped a meeting a year ago where our majority leader cracked a joke and then they released the tape of that joke out just a few days ago and that s a pretty bizarre thing to happen. So obviously that s a cause of concern of ours. Hewitt asked Ryan if he thought Evan McMullin, a Republican from Utah who ran an independent campaign against Trump, might be the one behind the leak. But Ryan refused to comment on who he thinks could be responsible. I m not going to speculate on who it is,  Ryan said.  That s the name that most people, you know, you hear about. McMullin was present for the meeting because he was serving as a staffer for GOP Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) at the time, who can also be heard chatting on the recording.According to the Washington Post, McMullin was not the one who leaked the tape. But McMullin previously mentioned this exchange in an op-ed he wrote for the New York Times. Suspect public comments like these led one senior Republican leader to dolefully inform his peers that he thought Mr. Trump was on the Kremlin s payroll, suggesting that Mr. Trump had been compromised by Russian intelligence,  McMullin wrote. Other leaders were surprised by their colleague s frank assessment, but did not dispute it. One thing is clear, Ryan is scared. He has no idea what horrific comments may be made public next and I have a feeling that he has said quite a few things he really doesn t want anyone to hear.Featured image via Mark Wilson/Getty Images