Donald Trump says security cameras are watching the reflecting pool and warns vandals they will go to jail. The public record offers a less cinematic exercise: locate the cameras taxpayers have rented.

The Guardian reports a $343,000 Park Police lease from LiveView Technologies, awarded September 14 and running through February. The contract does not disclose how many trailers it covers or where they are. The Washington Post reported LVT cameras near Memorial Circle and Arlington Memorial Bridge; the Guardian could not independently confirm their locations.

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Nor do the records establish that this leased equipment is what Trump meant. His statement identifies neither the supplier nor the placements. The contract predates Monday’s post. We have a presidential claim and a government purchase, not proof that one explains the other.

LVT says its equipment can flag loitering and read license plates, while not actively using facial recognition. A forthcoming camera is designed to detect people through darkness, fog and smoke. Remarkable visibility is on offer, subject to rather ordinary visibility about the purchase.

The Interior Department did not answer the Guardian’s questions; LVT declined comment. For now, the system can apparently help identify a person lingering in public. Identifying the publicly funded system requires further inquiries.