Secrecy and Security News
Newer News: June 2019
May 2019
- Trump puts DOJ on crash course with intelligence agencies by Natasha Bertrand, Politico, May 24. "National security veterans fear a declassification order could trigger resignations and threaten the CIA's ability to conduct its core business -- managing secret intelligence and sources."
- DNI Coats Statement on the Department of Justice Review, news release, May 24. "I am confident that the Attorney General will work with the IC in accordance with the long-established standards to protect highly-sensitive classified information that, if publicly released, would put our national security at risk."
- WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Charged in 18-Count Superseding Indictment, Justice Dept news release, May 23. "After agreeing to receive classified documents from Manning and aiding, abetting, and causing Manning to provide classified documents, the superseding indictment charges that Assange then published on WikiLeaks classified documents that contained the unredacted names of human sources who provided information to United States forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to U.S. State Department diplomats around the world." (Superseding Indictment)
- John Walker Lindh: What happens when you release a 'traitor'? by Tara McKelvey, BBC News, May 22. "The release of the 'American Taliban', scheduled for Thursday, shows how little the US has done to prepare for the moment they are set free."
- Under Pressure, Pentagon Publishes a Contractor-Fraud Report by Charles S. Clark, DefenseOne, May 14. "It took a transparency advocate using a Freedom of Information Act request, but the Defense Department last week released a congressionally mandated report on the extent of criminal contractor fraud, naming nine firms that were suspended or debarred."
- Former Intelligence Analyst Charged with Disclosing Classified Information, Justice Dept news release, May 9. "An indictment was unsealed today charging a former intelligence analyst with illegally obtaining classified national defense information and disclosing it to a reporter. Daniel Everette Hale, 31, of Nashville, Tennessee, was arrested this morning." (Indictment) (Superseding Indictment)
- Members of Congress question DoD decision not to renew JASON Contract, letter to Acting SecDef, May 3. "We believe that cancelling the JASON contract could damage our national security by depriving not only the Pentagon, but also other national security agencies, of sober and sound advice in confronting some ofthe Nation's most complex threats."
- JASON and the Bureaucrats by Mark Thompson, POGO, May 2. "Pentagon muckety-mucks tried to cut off funding for an elite group of independent scientific overseers. Then Congress intervened."
- Former CIA Officer Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Espionage, Justice Dept news release, May 1. "This is the third case in less than a year in which a former US intelligence officer has pled or been found guilty of conspiring with Chinese intelligence services to pass them national defense information," said Assistant Attorney General Demers.
Older News: April 2019