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Secrecy and Security News

Newer News: April 2021

March 2021

• Former Intelligence Analyst Pleads Guilty to Disclosing Classified Information, Justice Dept news release, March 31. Daniel Everett Hale pleaded guilty to illegally obtaining classified national defense information and disclosing it to a reporter from The Intercept.
• Murphy, Wyden Reintroduce Legislation to Enhance Congressional Oversight of Classification System, news release, March 24. The legislation would "enhance congressional accountability and oversight of the national security classification system, codify the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP), set up a streamlined congressional appeal of classification decisions, and establish whistleblower-type protections for employees that challenge classification decisions."
• Pompeo sought flurry of unmaskings last spring by Josh Gerstein, Politico, March 11. "State Department officials requested the unmasking of the identities of American citizens or permanent residents or companies in intelligence reports on at least 285 occasions during the Trump administration, with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo making at least 33 of those requests."
• FAS petitions DOE for declassification of the size of the US nuclear stockpile, FY 2018-2020, March 3. "By terminating the annual disclosure of stockpile information, the prior Administration retreated from 'the highest standards of transparency' that previously prevailed. Restoring such disclosure is consistent with the President's February 4 directive."
• Pentagon Report Assessed Lasers and Radar to Detect 'Deception' by Matthew Gault, VICE Motherboard, March 2. "It's almost impossible to tell when humans are lying and the technology we use to do so is based on pseudoscience and bad research."
• Biden won't release White House virtual visitor logs by Anita Kumar, Politico, March 1. "Government watchdogs are urging Biden to do more to keep the American public informed, including releasing virtual visitor logs."
• Notification of a Targeted Military Strike, communication from the President of the United States, March 1. "At my direction, on February 25, 2021, United States forces conducted a targeted military strike against infrastructure in eastern Syria used by Iran-supported non-state militia groups."

Older News: February 2021

https://sgp.fas.org/news/2021/03/index.html
Maintained by Steven Aftergood
Updated April 14, 2021