An aide to California Attorney General Jerry Brown has resigned after admitting that he secretly taped telephone conversations with reporters. The aide said that Brown and others in the office were unaware of the recordings.

According to the Associated Press, communication director Scott Gerber wrote in his resignation letter:

“My purpose wasn’t to play gotcha but simply to have an accurate record of official, on-the-record statements on matters of public concern. It is clear now I made serious errors in judgment.”

California is one of 12 states that require notification of all parties before a phone call is taped, AP reports. The story states:

The issue came to light last week after Gerber questioned a story, published on the newspaper’s Web site, about a disagreement over the ballot language of a potential auto insurance initiative. Gerber criticized the reporter’s depiction of the conversation and said he had a transcript of the telephone interview.