Indicted ex-Senate Intelligence staffer appears in court to hear charges

The former Senate Intelligence Committee staffer accused of lying to FBI agents appeared Friday in a Maryland court to hear the charges against him.

James Wolfe, 58, who was arrested Thursday, was released from custody and must appear at FBI headquarters on Monday for booking. He then has an initial appearance in federal court in D.C. on Tuesday.

He has not yet entered a plea.

Facing three charges of lying to FBI investigators about his contacts with reporters, Wolfe was released on personal recognizance under a number of conditions, which include turning over his passport and being unable to travel anywhere outside Maryland and D.C.

The statements he made to reporters came in December, before his retirement. Wolfe handled classified and sensitive information for the committee, which had just wrapped up its investigation into Russian meddling in the presidential election after roughly a year.

President Trump cheered his arrest, saying earlier Friday, "I'm a very big believer in freedom of the press, but I'm also a believer that you cannot leak classified information."

Wolfe, James - Indictment - June 2018 by Washington Examiner on Scribd

View the scrib doc here:

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/indicted-ex-senate-intelligence-staffer-appears-in-court-to-hear-charges

Canada is looking to crack down on illegal immigration at its southern border

Similar to President Trump working to secure America’s border with Mexico, Canada is also now working to strengthen its own southern border.

Canadian officials traveled to the U.S. this week to warn immigrants that they can’t cross the border into Canada to escape President Trump’s immigration policies, according to USA Today.

Over the past year, Canada has seen an increase of immigrants crossing their border illegally by way of the U.S., namely through New York into Quebec. Royal Canadian Mounted Police caught more than 5,500 illegal immigrants in August alone, a majority of those being Haitian immigrants about to lose protection in the U.S.

Given the spike of border crossings, Canadian representatives have been making visits to immigration hubs in the U.S., including South Florida, to educate would-be immigrants on Canada’s immigration policies.

However, those who seek legal immigration in Canada might have a hard time getting approved. Roughly only 8 percent of asylum applications have been approved and many of those denied are being deported back to their home countries.

Canadian officials have previously been an outspoken voice in the global immigration crisis.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/canada-is-looking-to-crack-down-on-illegal-immigration-at-its-southern-border

Facebook allowed companies to access certain types of user data, despite claiming to have ended those partnerships in 2015: Report

Facebook is in hot water once again, after it was revealed Friday the social media giant continued to give certain advertisers access to specific types of user data, despite the company declaring it had ended such partnerships in 2015.

According to a new Wall Street Journal report, the agreements, known internally as “whitelists,” gave select companies access to information about users' friends, including their phone numbers and details about how closely the friends interacted, also known as the "friend link."

The whitelist agreements were made with companies who advertise on Facebook, such as the Royal Bank of Canada and Nissan Motor Co. Other companies involved in similar deals also advertised on the social media platform or served a valuable purpose for other reasons, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Facebook officials said it struck these deals as a way to enhance user experience and test new features.

News of these agreements comes just a few days after it was revealed Facebook had data sharing partnerships with at least 60 device makers, including a Chinese firm which had previously been deemed a threat to U.S. national security. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have called for an investigation into the company's practices since the news broke.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/facebook-allowed-companies-to-access-certain-types-of-user-data-despite-claiming-to-have-ended-those-partnerships-in-2015-report

Jury convicts ex-CIA officer of espionage for transmitting top secret information to China

A federal jury convicted former CIA covert case officer Kevin Patrick Mallory of espionage Friday for transmitting classified documents to a Chinese intelligence officer.

“It is a sad day when an American citizen is convicted of spying on behalf of a foreign power,” Assistant Attorney General John Demers said of the conviction. “This act of espionage was no isolated incident. The People's Republic of China has made a sophisticated and concerted effort to steal our nation's secrets."

"Today's conviction demonstrates that we remain vigilant against this threat and hold accountable all those who put the United States at risk through espionage.”

The Justice Department noted that Mallory's action posed a "serious threat to U.S. national security."

According to the Justice Department, Mallory was convicted of conspiracy to deliver, attempted delivery, delivery of defense information to aid a foreign government, and making material false statements in regard to meetings and communications he had with a Chinese intelligence officer in 2017.

He first made contact with the officer in the spring of 2017 when he traveled to Shanghai, during which he turned over certain classified documents. During a voluntary interview with FBI agents, Mallory said the officer claimed to be working for the People's Republic of China.

Mallory also was given a covert communications device, manufactured by Samsung, through which he continued to communicate with and transmit documents to the Chinese intelligence official. Upon a review of the device, FBI officials discovered a message in which he stated he could return to Shanghai in June 2017 to "bring the remainder of the documents." The FBI determined Mallory had attempted to hand over eight documents, four of which he successfully transmitted via the covcom device. Two of the documents contained secret information and one contained top secret information.

He is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/jury-convicts-ex-cia-officer-of-espionage-for-transmitting-top-secret-information-to-china

BuzzFeed editors knew about reporter's romantic relationship with indicted ex-Senate staffer: Report

Editors at BuzzFeed were reportedly aware that one of their reporters engaged in a years-long romantic relationship with one of her top sources, the former director of security for the Senate Intelligence Committee who was indicted and arrested Thursday night for lying to FBI agents.

According to the Daily Caller, Ali Watkins, employed as a national security reporter by BuzzFeed from November 2015 to May 2017, informed her superiors of her relationship with James Wolfe, yet none of her stories ever made note of the serious conflict of interest inherent in her covering the Senate Intelligence Committee.

A BuzzFeed spokesman confirmed that some editors were in fact aware of the relationship, but the Daily Caller noted the spokesman did not give a reason why she was allowed to cover the committee or why none of her pieces noted the conflict.

BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith declined to comment on any of the outlet's sources "in the middle of an unjustifiable leak hunt."

"I am baffled that the FBI and Justice Department are going to these dangerous lengths over a story that points to public court documents that describe Russian spies approaching a Trump adviser, who himself is quoted confirming his role in the episode," he continued. "I’d like to know why that should be secret."

Wolfe was arrested and indicted Thursday night for providing false statements to FBI agents "about his repeated contacts with three reporters, including through his use of encrypted messaging applications."

Wolfe is also accused of making false statements about providing "non-public information related to matters occurring before the [Senate Intelligence Committee]" to two additional reporters.

As a part of their investigation, the Justice Department secretly collected Watkins' phone and email records.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/buzzfeed-editors-knew-about-reporter-ali-watkins-romantic-relationship-with-indicted-james-wolfe-report

House GOP blocks Obama-era rules on cost of climate change

The House GOP on Friday took a step forward in reining in the Obama administration's method of assessing the cost of carbon dioxide pollution when developing regulations.

The House voted 212-201, along party lines, to include a rider blocking the use of the climate change cost metric to an energy and water spending bill.

The amendment offered by Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert bars any and all funds from being used under the bill to "prepare, propose, or promulgate any regulation that relies on the Social Carbon analysis" devised under the Obama administration on how to value the cost of carbon.

The rider was added to the spending bill less than 24 hours after Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt proposed new rules to dial back the use of the carbon cost metric in EPA regulations.

"Many have complained that the previous administration inflated the benefits and underestimated the costs of its regulations through questionable cost-benefit analysis," Pruitt said. "This action is the next step toward providing clarity and real-world accuracy with respect to the impact of the agency's decisions on the economy and the regulated community."

Critics of Pruitt say his agency purposely downplayed the benefits of reducing carbon emissions to justify his repeal of the Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of former President Barack Obama's climate change agenda.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/house-gop-blocks-obama-era-rules-on-cost-of-climate-change

Repealing the Clean Power Plan, and other parts of Obama's climate action plan, is central to President Trump's deregulatory strategy to cut costs and expand the economy.

Critics of the administration's anti-climate change positions pointed out that 22 Republicans on the Climate Solutions Caucus voted in favor of the Gohmert amendment, calling the Republicans out as "climate peacocks," according to the group Climate Hawks Vote.

“This vote shows, once again, that the only endangered species congressional Republicans care about is themselves," said R.L. Miller, founder of Climate Hawks Vote. "A majority of the Republicans in the so-called Climate Solutions Caucus have voted to forbid EPA from taking into account the financial benefit to America of reducing carbon emissions and thus lessening the impact of climate change."

Miller called on the Climate Solutions Caucus to disband after Friday's vote.

>>1673171

It's exhilarating to watch all of this cabal be undone, never thought I would live long enough to see it, and then President Trump answered the call and I knew we were going to beat all of it!