READ: Rod Rosenstein’s Memo That Led to James Comey’s Firing
SUBJECT: RESTORING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN THE FBI May 9, 2017
https:// heavy.com/news/2017/05/rod-rosenstein-memo-james-comey-restoring- public-confidence-in-the-fbi-letter-text/
Trump says he's 'a believer in classified information' after arrest of Senate staffer
President Trump said Friday that he's "a believer in classified information" and looks favorably on the arrest of a former Senate Intelligence Committee staffer accused of lying to the FBI about leaks to the media.
Trump described James Wolfe, the committee's former security director, as "a very important leaker" and said that his Thursday arrest "could be a terrific thing."
Trump also said that he believes in press freedom, amid reports that the Justice Department acquired phone and email records of New York Times journalist Ali Watkins, who reportedly was in a romantic relationship with Wolfe.
"I believe strongly in freedom of the press. I'm a big, big believer in freedom of the press," Trump said. "But I'm also a believer in classified information. It has to remain classified. And that includes [former FBI Director James] Comey and his band of thieves who leaked classified information all over the place. So I'm a very big believer in freedom of the press, but I'm also a believer you cannot leak classified information."
Wolfe has not been charged with specific crimes covering mishandling classified information. An indictment includes three false-statement charges relating to four reporters, however, and links his handling of a classified document with a story published by Watkins.
So far in Trump's presidency, just two other alleged leakers have been prosecuted: former NSA contractor Reality Winner and former FBI agent Terry Albury.
Winner, jailed without bail pending trial, was arrested in June 2017 for allegedly providing a document to The Intercept on 2016 Russian attempts to hack election systems. Albury, who is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to two felonies in April, is believed to have sent The Intercept an FBI guide to informant recruitment and rules for seizing records from journalists.
Trump, who routinely denounces leaks, returned to the subject of Wolfe's prosecution later in a wide-ranging gaggle with reporters on Friday, saying that "I think you have a double edge. Reporters can't leak. You cannot leak classified information."
It's unclear what he meant to communicate about reporters being unable to leak, as reporters arguably are immune to charges for publishing classified information – though the legal question is unsettled. But Trump added: "At the same time, we need freedom of the press. But you cannot leak. Like Hillary Clinton did, like Comey did. You cannot leak classified information."
Trump then returned to a favorite subject, invoking the year-long prison sentence given to former Navy sailor Kristian Saucier. Trump allowed Saucier to serve his full prison sentence, but pardoned him this year. Saucier took six photos inside a nuclear submarine that were deemed to contain confidential information, the lowest level of classification.
"If you look at the young sailor, Saucier, he went to jail over not classified — a much lower level. And it's very unfair that he goes to jail and that Comey is allowed to do it all over," Trump said.
https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/trump-says-arrest-of-senate-staffer-in-leak-probe-could-be-a-terrific-thing
Jim Mattis: Afghanistan cease-fire will let US focus on ISIS, al Qaeda
The U.S. will take advantage of the temporary cease-fire with the Taliban declared in Afghanistan to train its firepower on ISIS Khorasan and al Qaeda remnants, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said at a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels Friday.
“Should the Taliban take full advantage of the cease-fire in the best interest of the Afghan people, then many of the surveillance assets we have overhead could be reoriented to ISIS-K, to al-Qaeda, and other foreign terrorists who have no business being in Afghanistan in the first place,” Mattis told reporters.
“And obviously, those forces that would have been otherwise engaging the Taliban … those forces are now in a stronger position to focus elsewhere," he said. "So there's a fair amount of capability, then, that would be available.”
But it all depends on whether the Taliban honor the cease-fire, which was declared unilaterally by Afghan president Ashraf Ghani. It's set to begin June 12 and last one-week to coincide with the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
“So, we'll see how it works out, and we'll keep you posted,” Mattis added.
The U.S. defense secretary also disputed the conclusion of recent internal Pentagon audits that suggested there has only been “minimal progress” in efforts to subdue the Taliban.
“The number of enemy-initiated attacks are down, which means more of the attacks are now initiated by the Afghan and NATO forces,” Mattis said. “That in itself is an indicator of the initiative is shifting.”
Progress and violence can coexist, he argued.
“It is a very challenging intellectual effort to try to get your hands around it. You have to look at who initiates the attacks,” he said. “Sometimes, violence can actually indicate you're getting closer to peace; we've all seen that at the end of other conflicts.”
Another sign that the new strategy of giving greater assistance to Afghan forces is the growing number of countries that have joined the NATO-led Resolute Support mission. Recently, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have the joined the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, bringing the coalition to a total of 41 nations.
“We have had other nations increase the number of troops that they are committing, we have had other nations contribute significant amounts of development funds,” Mattis said. “So, what you're seeing are objective indicators of a subjective analysis that the strategy is on the right track.”
“NATO allies and partners aren’t just maintaining their contributions to our Resolute Support mission, they are increasing them,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “Based on our discussions today, I am confident that we will agree to extend funding to the Afghan Security Forces to 2024 at next month’s summit.”
https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/jim-mattis-afghanistan-cease-fire-will-let-us-focus-on-isis-al-qaeda
House Democrats ask FBI for criminal probe of Scott Pruitt
Six House Democrats asked the Justice Department and FBI Friday to open a criminal investigation into embattled Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt "for using taxpayer-funded resources for the personal gain of himself and his family.”
“At the very least, we know that federal ethics laws bar public officials from using their position or staff for private gain,” the Democrats
“Administrator Pruitt has certainly done just that. Further, his actions related to his wife’s employment and the quid-pro-quo condo situation with industry lobbyists may have crossed a line into criminal conduct punishable by fines or even time in prison.”
Other Democrats signing the letter include Reps. Gerald Connolly of Virginia, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Ted Lieu of California, and Pramila Jayapal of Washington.
The letter marks the first request from Congress for a criminal probe of Pruitt.
The EPA chief is already facing a dozen federal investigations, but they are mostly being conducted by the EPA’s inspector general, congressional committees, and the White House, and focus on whether he has violated federal ethics rules.
The roster of issues under investigation include Pruitt’s $50-per-night condo rental deal with the wife of an energy lobbyist who had business before the EPA, his spending of more than $3.5 million on security, his $43,000 secure phone booth, frequent first-class travel, and allegations that he retaliated against employees who questioned his judgment.
Serious new allegations have surfaced this week, involving Pruitt’s use of public office for personal reasons.
Internal emails show that Pruitt assigned an EPA scheduler to arrange a meeting with the president of the fast-food company Chick-fil-A to discuss his wife becoming a franchise owner. Pruitt this week said he and his wife were “very excited” about the prospect of becoming owners.
The move could potentially violate the Hatch Act, which prohibits Cabinet-level officials from using federal staff for duties other than running the agency.
Also this week, congressional testimony became public showing an EPA aide, during official work time, tried to obtain a mattress for Pruitt from the Trump International Hotel. And Pruitt used his round-the-clock security detail to pick up dry cleaning and body lotion, according to another report.
Federal rules say public officials cannot receive gifts from subordinates, including unpaid services. The rules also prevent them from using their office for private gain.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/house-democrats-ask-fbi-for-criminal-probe-of-scott-pruitt
House votes for regular audits of Robert Mueller's Russia investigation
The House voted Friday to audit special counsel Robert Mueller's team to see how he's spending money as he investigates alleged collusion between Russia and President Trump's campaign.
Lawmakers voted 207-201 to attach the language to a veterans, military construction, and energy and water spending bill that was headed to pass Friday.
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., has been pushing for an audit of the Mueller probe in part because he is seeking information about the scope of the investigation. His amendment “reestablishes a semiannual Government Accountability Office financial review of obligated expenditures” from Mueller's office.
It would also require GAO to turn over the audits to House committees, including the Judiciary and Government Oversight panels.
"It's time for Congress to act to restore this key oversight provision," Meadows said. He is a senior member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that would receive the audit.
Republican lawmakers have been at odds with the Department of Justice over a memo Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wrote to Mueller last summer that provided the parameters of the Trump-Russia probe. The department has refused requests to turn over the memo, arguing earlier this month that doing so would “threaten the integrity” of the investigation.
The Justice Department reported in December that Mueller had spent nearly $7 million on the first four months of the investigation.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/house-votes-for-regular-audits-of-robert-muellers-russia-investigation
European Union: Trump is ‘undermining’ the US-led world order
President Trump is “undermining” the American-led international system in a way that will only help non-Western countries, a leading European Union official warned Friday.
“The rules-based international order is being challenged … not by the usual suspects, but by its main architect and guarantor: the U.S.,” European Council President Donald Tusk told reporters before the G-7 summit in Charlevoix, Canada.
“We will not stop trying to convince our American friends and President Trump that undermining this order makes no sense at all,” Tusk said. “Because it would only play into the hands of those who seek a new, post-West order, where liberal democracy and fundamental freedoms would cease to exist.”
Tusk made those comments amid U.S. disputes with Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union over “trade, climate change and the Iran nuclear deal.” Trump also said Friday that Russia should be readmitted to the G-7 summit, an annual meeting of leaders from the world’s seven largest industrialized democracies.
The bloc used to be known as the G-8, but Russia was suspended following the annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine — "the first gunpoint land grab in Europe since the end of World War II,” as a former NATO official put it.
Tusk's remarks about a "post-West" order recalled a comment from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who at the Munich Security Conference in 2017 declared an end to the era that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union and called for a revision of international arrangements.
"If you want, you can call it a 'post-West' world order, when each country — based on it's sovereignty, within the rules of international law — will strive to find a balance between its own national interests and the national interests of partners, with respect for cultural, historical, and civilization identity of each country," Lavrov said then.
He gave that address even as European leaders still worried at the time about Trump’s commitment to the mutual defense provision of the NATO treaty. Months later, Lavrov added that NATO proponents are "doomed to failure” in the 21st century.
“The North Atlantic Alliance has remained part of the Cold War paradigm as it tries to find a reason for existence,” Lavrov said in July. “NATO has destabilized and continues to destabilize the security structure in Europe."
Russia feels threatened by the expansion of NATO into its near-abroad, as former Soviet satellite states seek membership in the Western alliance. Lavrov's July speech marked the same occasion in which he defended the invasion of Ukraine, despite previous denials that the Russians had intervened at all.
"Had we not done what we did, we would have betrayed our civilization which our forefathers developed over centuries and who then spread it over vast territories," Lavrov said.
With Lavrov’s comments in mind, Tusk suggested that the G-7 leaders should keep their debates a family fight.
“Of course we are open to reasonable arguments, whenever something doesn’t function well. There is always room for debate,” he said. “Even in difficult times like these, and despite all the differences, there is still much more that unites us, than divides us. It is far too early for our adversaries and enemies to celebrate.”
https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/european-union-trump-is-undermining-the-us-led-world-order
How Did Investigators Read James Wolfe’s Signal Messages?
On Thursday night, former Senate Intelligence Committee aide James A. Wolfe was arrested for allegedly lying to the FBI during a leak investigation. According to the indictment, Wolfe repeatedly denied providing classified information to four journalists regarding sensitive topics like the Russia investigation. The FBI alleges it found proof that Wolfe in fact used encrypted messaging apps to communicate with the reporters. (Ali Watkins, who covers national security for the New York Times, reportedly had years’ worth of email and phone records seized by the Justice Department.)
Journalists were dismayed to discover that prosecutors were actually able to quote the Signal messages in the indictment. Wolfe allegedly wrote to one reporter, “Good job!” and “I’m glad you got the scoop.” The reporter messaged back, “Thank you. [MALE-1] isn’t pleased, but would deny that the subpoena was served.” Signal is generally regarded as one of the most secure encrypted messaging apps available, and many reporters rely on its services to communicate with confidential sources. So does this indictment proof that Signal isn’t as protected as we all thought?
As SlashGear and others have pointed out, Signal does offer robust end-to-end encryption, which ensures that only the people involved in a chat can see the messages. But it does not automatically delete messages from your devices. It’s unclear how exactly investigators were able to retrieve the messages in this case, but they could have theoretically seized a phone belonging to Wolfe or one of the reporters and simply read the messages on the app.
The best way to safeguard against snoopers is to turn on Signal’s “Disappearing Messages” feature every time you start a new chat, which lets users determine how long messages will be retained in the app after they’ve been sent or received. You can also manually delete all of your chat history. It’s also important to make sure the person you’re communicating with has this setting enabled and isn’t taking pictures of your chats.
This is the second time this week that we’ve learned of a Washington insider attempting to use an encrypted app, only to discover that investigators had found a workaround. On Monday, Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed court documents accusing former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of using Telegram and WhatsApp to engage in witness tampering.
Investigators were able to read backups of the conversations on his iCloud. The people he was trying to securely contact also ended up just handing investigators the messages.
http://amp.slate.com/technology/2018/06/signal-how-did-fbi-read-james-wolfe-encrypted-messages-reporters.html
Who Is James Wolfe? Former Senate Employee Lied To FBI, Arrested
James A. Wolfe, a former security director for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) was indicted and arrested late Thursday for allegedly lying to the FBI as part of an investigation related to the leak of classified information in December last year.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a press release that Wolfe lied to FBI agents about his contacts with three reporters, including through his use of encrypted messaging applications.
He also made false statements about providing two reporters with non-public information related to the matters occurring before the SSCI, the release said.
According to the DOJ, Wolfe, security director for nearly 30 years, had all the information classified "secret" and "top secret" provided by the Executive Branch, including the U.S. Intelligence Community, to the SSCI.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie K. Liu said, “Mr. Wolfe’s alleged conduct is a betrayal of the extraordinary public trust that had been placed in him.”
http:// www.ibtimes.com/who-james-wolfe-former-senate-employee-lied-fbi-arrested-2688728
“It is hoped that these charges will be a warning to those who might lie to law enforcement to the detriment of the United States,” she added.
Assistant Attorney General Demers said, “The Attorney General has stated that investigations and prosecutions of unauthorized disclosure of controlled information are a priority of the Department of Justice. The allegations in this indictment are doubly troubling as the false statements concern the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive and confidential information.”
The arrest comes the same day the New York Times reported one of its reporters, Ali Watkins, who had been in a three-year relationship with Wolfe, had been notified by a prosecutor that her email and phone records were obtained by federal investigators as part of an enquiry on Wolfe. Watkins appears to be referred to as Reporter #2 in the indictment.
The indictment said that in another case in October 2017, Wolfe alerted a reporter using an encrypted messaging app about Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser, being served with a subpoena to testify before the committee. Once the article was published, Wolfe wrote “I’m glad you got the scoop,” the New York Times reported.
The document said that in the same month, Wolfe reached out to a third reporter to serve as an unnamed source. Prosecutors said Wolfe communicated with a fourth reporter using his Senate email account from 2015 to 2017.
Wolfe worked as an Intelligence Analyst for the U.S. Army from 1983-1987 before joining the SSCI. He was working as Director of Security for the SSCI, a position he held for approximately 29 years when he made false allegations.
Wolfe abruptly departed the senate panel at the end of 2017 where he worked under leadership of both parties since 1987, reported CNN.
According to his LinkedIn page, Wolfe earned a degree in Business Administration and Management from the University of Maryland College Park.
Wolfe is expected to make his first appearance on June 8 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
There's a linkedIn page for him, does any Anon have one to see what might be in it?
These guys are like the fox watching the hen house and we already know how that ends.
Disney, Fox Carved Out Assets 'Surgically', US Antitrust Chief Says
Walt Disney Co’s (DIS.N) $52.4 billion deal to acquire most of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc’s (FOXA.O) assets was “surgically” structured on good advice to be submitted to regulators, Makan Delrahim, assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division, said on Thursday.
“We will see what the investigation shows. (Disney) didn’t propose to acquire Fox Sports 1 and 2. They didn’t acquire Fox Broadcasting and say, you know what, we will combine this with ABC and don’t worry about it we’ll have an arbitrator decide if prices for advertisers go up or competition for content creators goes down,” Delrahim told The Deal’s annual corporate governance conference in New York.
“They had good advice and carved out surgically … a transaction that might be doable. But again, who knows where that transaction leads,” Delrahim added.
Antitrust considerations have become especially important as Fox prepares to weigh a rival offer for the assets Disney agreed to buy last December. Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) said last month it was preparing an offer for the Fox assets that would top the deal with Disney.
A regulatory filing in April showed that Comcast offered to acquire Fox’s assets for $64 billion last November, before it agreed to sell to Disney. Fox rejected Comcast’s offer, even though it was higher, partly because it was concerned it faced a greater risk of regulators shooting it down.
Comcast is waiting to see if a U.S. federal judge will allow AT&T Inc’s (T.N) planned $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc (TWX.N) to proceed before submitting its new offer to Fox, sources have said.
The Department of Justice has sued to block that deal, and Fox has cited the lawsuit as a reason why a tie-up with a cable operator such as Comcast could irk regulators.
http:// www.ibtimes.com/disney-fox-carved-out-assets-surgically-us-antitrust-chief-says-2688693
Google Bars Uses Of Its Artificial Intelligence Tech In Weapons
Google will not allow its artificial intelligence software to be used in weapons or unreasonable surveillance efforts under new standards for its business decisions in the nascent field, the Alphabet Inc. unit said Thursday.
The restriction could help Google management defuse months of protest by thousands of employees against the company's work with the United States military to identify objects in drone video.
Google instead will seek government contracts in areas such as cybersecurity, military recruitment and search and rescue, Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said in a blog post Thursday.
"We want to be clear that while we are not developing AI for use in weapons, we will continue our work with governments and the military in many other areas," he said.
Breakthroughs in the cost and performance of advanced computers have carried AI from research labs into industries such as defense and health in the last couple of years. Google and its big technology rivals have become leading sellers of AI tools, which enable computers to review large datasets to make predictions and identify patterns and anomalies faster than humans could.
But the potential of AI systems to pinpoint drone strikes better than military specialists or identify dissidents from mass collection of online communications has sparked concerns among academic ethicists and Google employees.
A Google official, requesting anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue, said the company would not have joined the drone project last year had the principles already been in place. The work comes too close to weaponry, even though the focus is on non-offensive tasks, the official said Thursday.
Google plans to honor its commitment to the project through next March, a person familiar with the matter said last week. More than 4,600 employees petitioned Google to cancel the deal sooner, with at least 13 employees resigning in recent weeks in an expression of concern.
A nine-employee committee drafted the AI principles, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.
The Google official described the principles as a template that any software developer could put into immediate use. Though Microsoft Corp and others released AI guidelines earlier, the AI community has followed Google's efforts closely because of the internal pushback against the drone deal.
Google's principles say it will not pursue AI applications intended to cause physical injury, that tie into surveillance "violating internationally accepted norms of human rights," or that present greater "material risk of harm" than countervailing benefits.
"The clear statement that they won't facilitate violence or totalitarian surveillance is meaningful," University of Washington technology law professor Ryan Calo tweeted Thursday.
Google also called on employees and customers developing AI "to avoid unjust impacts on people," particularly around race, gender, sexual orientation and political or religious belief.
The company recommended that developers avoid launching AI programs likely to cause significant damage if attacked by hackers because existing security mechanisms are unreliable.
Pichai said Google reserved the right to block applications that violated its principles. The Googleofficial acknowledged that enforcement would be difficult because the company cannot track each use of its tools, some of which can be downloaded free of charge and used privately.
Google's decision to restrict military work has inspired criticism from members of Congress. Representative Pete King, a New York Republican, tweeted on Thursday that Google not seeking to extend the drone deal "is a defeat for U.S. national security."
http:// www.ibtimes.com/google-bars-uses-its-artificial-intelligence-tech-weapons-2688775
Facebook Takes On Twitch With Video Game Streaming Service Fb.gg
Facebook has spent most of 2018 trying to fend off accusations of data mismanagement while reinventing itself as more than just a place to share vacation photos. On Thursday, Facebook started rolling out a new feature that will let it compete with the burgeoning market of video game streaming.
Typing “fb.gg” (or just facebook.com/gaming) into a web browser will now bring users to a hub where they can see gaming live streams from different creators on the platform. The page features popular streams that are live at that moment, as well as recommended streamers to check out and the ability to search by game.
Below is a glimpse of how the page looks, courtesy of TechCrunch.
Facebook launches https://t.co/IXTlHrMigu gaming video hub to compete with Twitch https://t.co/3A5NK3t34x by @joshconstine pic.twitter.com/VweajnlwFC
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) June 7, 2018
Facebook will also let some of these streamers monetize their work through the Level Up program, per TechCrunch. Viewers will be able to “tip” their favorite streamers with a virtual currency called Facebook Stars. The social network will then pay those streamers $0.01 for each star they earn.
Streamers selected to participate in the Level Up program also have access to higher video quality for their streams.
The idea, clearly, is to position Facebook as an alternative to Twitch, the main home for gaming live streams on the internet. Some Twitch streamers make huge amounts of money through viewer support, and the site itself generates millions in revenue through ads. Twitch might not be a household name for older demographics, but Amazon bought it for $970 million in 2014.
Facebook has stuck its fingers into the gaming pie before, but not this comprehensively. In 2016, popular game developer Blizzard Entertainment put a feature into all of its games that allowed users to stream them to Facebook. Perhaps Facebook wants to win back the support of teens, who have largely abandoned the platform in favor of Snapchat and Instagram.
Facebook has also branched out this year with the announcements of a new dating service and original news programming.
http:// www.ibtimes.com/facebook-takes-twitch-video-game-streaming-service-fbgg-2688942
Glad you are enjoying them :) Happy to share!
What I was thinking front door for employees looks like they won, but backdoor says, we are doing it!