Ex-Intelligence Analyst Charged With Giving Reporter Classified Information

Daniel Fleming March 7, 2020

A former intelligence analyst working as a contractor for the federal government has been charged with stealing classified documents and turning them over to a reporter.

The reporter was not named, but many people think that the recipient of those files was The Intercept, who has a history of publishing leaked documents, including the infamous Reality Winner case. It is believed that Daniel E. Hale, the former analyst, was working with reporter Jeremy Scahill of The Intercept. The Intercept published some of those files on drone warfare in 2015.

AG Bill Barr says the DOJ is investigating multiple leaks.

From The Daily Caller

This would be the third leak prosecution involving The Intercept over the past several years. Reality Winner, a former National Security Agency contractor, and Terry Albury, a former FBI agent, were previously indicted for providing classified information to the website. The Trump administration has ramped up its investigations of illegal government leaks. Attorney General William Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 1 that the Justice Department has “multiple” ongoing criminal leak investigations.

According to prosecutors, Hale printed out 36 documents from his Top Secret computer system, and provided at least 17 to the reporter and the reporter’s online news organization. According to the indictment, 11 of the documents published were marked as having top-secret or secret information.

Hale faces of slew of charges for illegally obtaining, retaining and transmitted national defense information. He faces up to 50 years in prison for the charges, but is likely to face a much lighter sentence if convicted.

https://steadfastloyalty.com/news-for-you/ex-intelligence-analyst-charged-with-giving-reporter-classified-information /

DOD Contractor Accused of Sharing Military Secrets With Hezbollah

By AAN Staff March 5, 2020

Federal prosecutors have charged Mariam Taha Thompson, 61, with providing classified information to a Lebanese national with ties to Hezbollah.

The information allegedly shared by the contract linguist could put intelligence assets and American military personnel in danger.

Authorities said Thompson shared the true names of intelligence sources with a co-conspirator, a Lebanese national in whom she had a romantic interest.”

That person had a relative who worked for the Lebanese government, and also “has apparent connections to” Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group in Lebanon, which the State Department has designated a terrorist organization, according to the Justice Department.

The linguist, court records say, confessed her actions after she was arrested, and claimed she provided information to her co-conspirator at the request of that person.

“By compromising the identities of these human assets, Thompson placed the lives of the human assets and U.S. military personnel in grave danger,” the Justice Department said in a statement.

Before her arrest, Thompson held Top Secret security clearances.

https://americanactionnews.com/foreign-affairs/dod-contractor-accused-of-sharing-military-secrets-with-hezbollah /

Bombshell IG Report Unearths: FBI Had Intel On At Least 6 Terror Attacks Before They Happened

Jessica Ripple March 4, 2020

The Department of Justice released the Inspector General’s report titled, “Audit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Efforts to Identify Homegrown Violent Extremists through Counterterrorism Assessments“. The audit unearthed some pretty terrifying information:

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted an audit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) efforts to identify homegrown violent extremists (HVE) through counterterrorism assessments. Our objectives were to review the FBI’s HVE-related casework and resource management and evaluate its policies and processes to assess HVE threats from October 2012 through September 2018.

Key Results:

Since September 11, 2001, HVEs have carried out over 20 attacks in the United States, some of which occurred after the FBI closed a counterterrorism investigation or assessment on the individual.

We further found that the FBI has experienced a substantial influx of reports of suspicious incidents, but has not developed comprehensive strategies for addressing t he challenges associated with the potential cross-over between terrorist threats and other categories of threats, for example, those posed by individuals with mental health issues and crim inal threats to life.

According to the FBI, between January 2015 and December 2018, it arrested 65 individuals who allegedly planned to conduct terrorist attacks in the United States.

The most alarming discovery was that the US received at least six known attacks by HVEs that were previously investigated or identified by the FBI. Among those included was the Pulse Night club attack in 2016, the Fort Hood incident in 2009, and the Boston Marathon bombing back in 2013.

You can view detail on each attack in a tweet released on Twitter:

The report offers some insight into how real a homegrown threats really are. Each attack resulted in the deaths of many Americans, knowing that the might have been twarted isn’t exactly comforting to know.

It’s unclear at this time if the Inspector General’s office will launch separate probes to find out who dropped the ball but I can’t imagine that not being in the works. If nothing else, to prevent this from happening so often in the future.

https://leadpatriot.com/bombshell-doj-ig-report-at-least-6-us-terror-attacks-previously-identified-by-fbi/6307/

Max Von Sydow, Legendary Star of 'The Exorcist' and 'Game Of Thrones,' Dies

The legendary actor Max Von Sydow, of 'The Exorcist' and 'Game of Thrones' fame, has died at the age of 90.

The actor's storied career, spanning more than 65 years, saw him receive two Oscar nominations and star in numerous beloved films and television shows.

As The New York Post reports:

“Is with a broken heart and with infinite sadness that we have the extreme pain of announcing the departure of Max von Sydow, on March 8, 2020,” read a statement from his widow, Catherine von Sydow, sent via the actor’s international reps.

Born in Lund, Sweden, von Sydow studied at Stockholm’s Royal Dramatic Theatre and got his start in the film business through his work with mentor Ingmar Bergman, with their credits including world cinema classic “The Seventh Seal,” in which he portrays a man who plays a chess game with Death, the Oscar-nominated “Wild Strawberries,” and the Oscar-winning “The Virgin Spring.”…

Showcasing his enduring versatility, the 2000s saw von Sydow take roles in the box-office hit “Rush Hour 3,” Julian Schnabel’s Cannes award-winning pic “The Diving Bell And The Butterfly,” and further pics with Martin Scorsese on “Shutter Island,” and with Steven Spielberg on “Minority Report.”

On the small screen, he appeared in Showtime’s drama series “The Tudors,” and scored an Emmy nomination for his role on “Thrones.”

https://americanupdate.com/articles/max-von-sydow-legendary-star-of-the-exorcist-and-game-of-thrones-dies#bht.7f476654-ee96-4188-8d50-3faf2ea6656e.7