Photo by philliefan99.

When we first learned that Howard Brooks, the former consultant to Mayor Vince Gray, might have worn a wire as part of the federal investigation into Gray’s mayoral campaign, we immediately wondered: did Brooks manage to get the Mayor on tape?

He didn’t, at least according to the Mayor. In fact, Gray said yesterday that he hadn’t been in touch with Brooks in a long time:

Mr. Gray told reporters at the John A. Wilson Building that he has not been asked to provide fingerprints, and he distanced himself from Howard L. Brooks, a campaign consultant who reports suggest has gone from a target of the corruption probe to an informant willing to wear a wire.

“I haven’t spoken to Howard Brooks this year,” Mr. Gray said, curtailing any speculation that Mr. Brooks may have recorded a conversation with him.

Which, all things considered, is a pretty standard denial.

But this morning, Gray took it to the next level. During an appearance on NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt, Gray told the host that he “didn’t even know about the wiretap until it became public.” When asked by DePuyt if his voice would ever appear on a federal wiretap recording, Gray was adamant in his denial, stating that he “can absolutely assure” his voice would not appear on the record.

You listening, U.S. Attorney’s Office? Sure sounds like Gray just laid down a challenge.