A Chinese Spy Worked In Senator Dianne Feinstein's Office For Twenty Years

We can only imagine the twenty-four hour media blitz that would be unleashed if this had happened with the Trump campaign, or on anyone's staff even remotely associated with President Trump past or present. But when the story first broke in the middle of this week of a mole working on behalf of the Russian Chinese government on a powerful Democrat Senate Intelligence Committee member's staff, it passed in the mainstream media with a yawn, and though slowly gaining visibility still hasn't been covered by some of the large cable networks or newspapers.

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was "mortified" upon learning that a Chinese spy had worked in her office for nearly 20 years. According to new details initially unveiled in a Politico report on Russian and Chinese spies in Silicon Valley, a staffer who was fired five years ago had managed to stay on her team for nearly two decades likely out of motivation to collect information related to her long tenure on the Senate Intelligence Committee, for which she maintains top-secret security clearance. Sen. Feinstein reportedly made the staffer retire upon being alerted by the FBI. He worked as her personal driver and clerk for her Bay Area office, as CBS San Francisco relates:

On Wednesday, the San Francisco Chronicle uncovered additional details in a column written by reporters Phil Matier and Andy Ross. The column revealed that the Chinese spy was Feinstein’s driver who also served as a gofer in her Bay Area office and was a liaison to the Asian-American community. He even attended Chinese consulate functions for the senator. Feinstein — who was Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time — was reportedly mortified when the FBI told her she’d be infiltrated. Investigators reportedly concluded the driver hadn’t leaked anything of substance and Feinstein forced him to retire.

Perhaps the most stunning part of the story is that he remained in her office for nearly two decades, reportedly having contact with China's Ministry of State Security for an unknown number of years during that lengthy period. Though it's unclear when his contact with the Chinese state began, follow-up reports by local San Francisco sources claim he may have been an unwitting asset.

https:// www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-08-03/chinese-spy-worked-sen-feinsteins-office-twenty-years

As national media worry about tone of Trump rallies, three GOP lawmakers receive death threats

You can be forgiven for thinking the biggest story this week is President Trump's ongoing war with the national press. After all, the press covered it that way themselves, didn't they?

CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ABC, CBS, NBC, etc. dedicated outsized coverage this week to reporting that journalists feel unsafe and threatened at Trump rallies. A good deal of coverage has also gone to reporting that members of the press feel marginalized and disrespected at the daily White House press briefing. But as national media worried this week that Trump's rhetoric might lead to something worse, a much bigger story went mostly unnoticed.

Police arrested two men in connection to death threats made against three Republicans members of Congress. Law enforcement officers arrested Carlos Bayon of Grand Island, N.Y., Wednesday after they connected him to threatening voicemails made to Republican Reps. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington. “[W]e are required to treat every single threat as if it’s real,” said Gary Loeffert, special agent in charge of the FBI in Buffalo. “Constitutional protections do not extend to threatening phone calls." He added that his agents found evidence in Bayon's home suggesting the 63-year-old defendant's phone calls were not idle threats.

Scalise's office reported receiving a threatening voicemail on June 30. Bayon, 63, allegedly threatened retaliation for the White House’s immigration policies. Here’s a transcript of the voicemail via the criminal complaint filed July 31: Hey listen, this message is for you and the people that sent you there. You are taking ours, we are taking yours. Anytime, anywhere. We know where they are. We are not going to feed them sandwiches, we are going to feed them lead. Make no mistake; you will pay. Ojo por ojo, diente por diente (This is Spanish for “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”). That is our law, and we are the majority. Have a good day.” Scalise is still recovering from an assassination attempt. McMorris Rodgers' staff reported receiving the exact same voicemail on June 30.

The second man apprehended by law enforcement is Dereal Finklin of New Jersey. Police arrested him over the weekend in connection to a “credible threat” made against Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.Y., according to the Asbury Park Press. The details are thin, but we know Finklin, 43, “is a registered Democrat.” We also know that he “was charged with making terroristic threats against the congressman on Saturday.” Meanwhile, the lion’s share of news coverage since July 27 has gone to discussing the White House’s ongoing fights with media, according to data compiled by TVEyes:(see image)

It shouldn’t be surprising that Trump vs. the media has been the lead story all week (and it has been). It's obvious that there’s nothing the national press loves more than talking about the national press. But that doesn’t mean we have to like it, or that we should trust their news judgment on how important it is, especially when there are so many more important stories and trends to cover.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/as-national-media-worry-about-tone-of-trump-rallies-three-gop-lawmakers-receive-death-threats