That reference was interpreted at the time to mean that Hussein had put some kind of device similar or akin to that which was deployed against embassy staff in Cuba that caused them to lose hearing, etc., to the PEOC situation room, and that it had been discovered and disabled. Recall that prior to Trump taking office, Hussein had work done on the WH, which was considered to be an opportunity to deploy listening devices, etc., and, then, when Trump took office, one of the first things he did was have work done on WH that caused the press to hyperventilate that Trump had said the WH was a dump or something like that.
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I read that the device would have killed everyone in the PEOC. A sonic weapon would not be useful for that function. Probably something more lethal.