February 04, 2017
Neal Santos/Facebook
Pictured is Emily Guendelsberger, who reportedly has been identified as the woman who snuck into a Republican retreat in Philadelphia by posing as a lawmaker's wife.
The woman who reportedly snuck into last month's Republican retreat in Philadelphia has a message for media outlets covering the story: Please use a current picture of me.
Philly.com reported Friday that Emily Guendelsberger, a former staff writer at the now-defunct City Paper, has been identified by federal authorities as the person who got into the Loews hotel for the event on Jan. 26 by posing as a congressman's wife.
Organizers of the event told lawmakers that a woman had infiltrated the retreat posing as a spouse and recorded audio, which includes congressional Republicans discussing repealing the Affordable Care Act and a Q&A with Vice President Mike Pence. The audio was leaked to news outlets, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, prompting lawmakers to call for an investigation into the then-unknown woman.
Federal prosecutors are unlikely to press charges, however it's still unclear if local authorities will pursue action since Guendelsberger secretly recorded the audio, a potential violation of state law, according to Philly.com.
On Saturday, Guendelsberger addressed the report on Facebook by pointing out the photo of her that was originally used on the Philly.com story, joking that is was 10 years old and showed her with a "legendary hangover." She provided a more recent photo for media outlets to use.
Her post read:
OK, well, since there are things being written about me, the photograph of me being used at the moment is a decade old and shows a 23-year-old Emily with a legendary hangover. This is my professional headshot. Credit Neal Santos. I am not interested in talking to you. Thank you.
As Philly.com noted, Guendelsberger, 33, who is currently a freelance journalist, gained notoriety for her 2015 City Paper piece in which she went undercover as an Uber driver to see what employee conditions were like for the ridesharing service.
Guendelsberger did not immediately respond to a PhillyVoice request for comment.
