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Trump / Musk (other than DOGE)
- Thread starter nycfan
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CIA sends White House unclassified email with names of agency new hires
“The CIA has sent the White House an unclassified email listing all new hires that have been with the agency for two years or less in an effort to comply with an executive order to downsize the federal workforce, according to three sources familiar with the matter – a deeply unorthodox move that could potentially expose the identities of those officers to foreign government hackers.
The list – which includes everything from new analysts to trainees preparing to operate under cover – only provides first names and last initials, officials said. The sources described that decision as the “least bad option” that career officials determined to comply with President Donald Trump’s order while still attempting to safeguard the identities of officers.
But some of the employees have “uncommon” first names, one of the sources noted, meaning that if a foreign intelligence service were to gain access to it, some of the officials could be easily matched with publicly available data and possibly identified.
Although new hires are unlikely to have yet been deployed undercover overseas, as a practical matter, the CIA may now consider it too risky to send them to dangerous postings for fear they will be identified before they even start. In other words, it’s possible that the move may have ended some young officers’ careers before they even started, according to two sources familiar with the situation. …”
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White House Orders C.I.A. to Send an Unclassified Email With Names of Some Employees
C.I.A. Sent an Unclassified Email With Names of Some Employees to Trump Administration
The list of partial names was provided in an effort to comply with an executive order to trim the federal work force.
“The White House ordered the C.I.A. to send an unclassified email listing all employees hired by the spy agency over the last two years to comply with an executive order to shrink the federal work force, in a move that former officials say risked the list leaking to adversaries.
…The agency normally would prefer not to put these names in an unclassified system. Some former officials said they worried that the list could be passed on to a team of newly hired young software experts working with Elon Musk and his government efficiency team. If that happened, the names of the employees might be more easily targeted by China, Russia or other foreign intelligence services.
One former agency officer called the reporting of the names in an unclassified email a “counterintelligence disaster.”
…Current officials confirmed that the C.I.A. had sent the names of employees to the Office of Personnel Management, complying with an executive order signed by President Trump. But the officials downplayed security concerns. By sending just the first names and initials of the probationary employees, one U.S. official said, they hoped the information would be protected.
But former officials scoffed at the explanation, saying that the names and initials could be combined with other information — from driver’s license and car registration systems, social media accounts and publicly available data from universities that the agency uses as recruiting grounds — to piece together a more complete list. …”
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Continued
“… In 2024, the C.I.A. had its best recruiting drive since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. C.I.A. officers, because of their intense training, have a long probationary period, up to four years. However, the White House required only the names of people who had served two years or fewer.
Under William J. Burns, the former C.I.A. director, the agency put a new emphasis on trying to recruit a diverse group of officers, arguing that overseas spying operations required people with an array of language skills and cultural knowledge. He focused particularly on expanding the agency’s coverage of China, creating a China center at the headquarters that included analysts, operatives and others. When Mr. Burns arrived at the agency in 2021, about 9 percent of the agency’s budget was devoted to China-related analysis and espionage; today it is closer to 20 percent.
So any large-scale culling of more recent hires could have a disparate impact on Mandarin speakers and technology experts, along with the agency’s minority work force.
But current officials said the C.I.A.’s new director, John Ratcliffe, was prioritizing China and did not want to see any mass exodus of people with expertise in that area.
The Trump administration has made quick work of diversity programs, ordering them shut down and scrubbed from websites.
… The White House-ordered review of probationary hires comes as Mr. Ratcliffe has begun an effort to push long-tenured agency officers to retire early. Mr. Ratcliffe, officials said, hopes to clear a path to leadership jobs for midcareer officers.
… National-security-related agencies had originally been exempted, at least partially, from the governmentwide “fork in the road” offer to leave their jobs that was extended last week. But Mr. Ratcliffe pushed to have a version of the offer extended to his work force.
Under the C.I.A.’s program, the agency will retain some say over the timing of when anyone leaves to ensure that critical areas have enough officers. …”
“… In 2024, the C.I.A. had its best recruiting drive since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. C.I.A. officers, because of their intense training, have a long probationary period, up to four years. However, the White House required only the names of people who had served two years or fewer.
Under William J. Burns, the former C.I.A. director, the agency put a new emphasis on trying to recruit a diverse group of officers, arguing that overseas spying operations required people with an array of language skills and cultural knowledge. He focused particularly on expanding the agency’s coverage of China, creating a China center at the headquarters that included analysts, operatives and others. When Mr. Burns arrived at the agency in 2021, about 9 percent of the agency’s budget was devoted to China-related analysis and espionage; today it is closer to 20 percent.
So any large-scale culling of more recent hires could have a disparate impact on Mandarin speakers and technology experts, along with the agency’s minority work force.
But current officials said the C.I.A.’s new director, John Ratcliffe, was prioritizing China and did not want to see any mass exodus of people with expertise in that area.
The Trump administration has made quick work of diversity programs, ordering them shut down and scrubbed from websites.
… The White House-ordered review of probationary hires comes as Mr. Ratcliffe has begun an effort to push long-tenured agency officers to retire early. Mr. Ratcliffe, officials said, hopes to clear a path to leadership jobs for midcareer officers.
… National-security-related agencies had originally been exempted, at least partially, from the governmentwide “fork in the road” offer to leave their jobs that was extended last week. But Mr. Ratcliffe pushed to have a version of the offer extended to his work force.
Under the C.I.A.’s program, the agency will retain some say over the timing of when anyone leaves to ensure that critical areas have enough officers. …”
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Pete Hegseth’s Venmo: Defense Contractors, UnitedHealth Execs, Fox, and Friends
The VA may be the next government agency to go dark, if Pete Hegseth’s digital Rolodex is anything to go by.
prospect.org
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“… The individual transactions on Hegseth’s Venmo account are private, but what remains public is his list of friends; at most, that can indicate accounts he’s repeatedly transacted with. At the very least, this list represents phone contacts that were transported into his account as Venmo friends. As Joe Biden found out the hard way, a publicly available network of associates of the head of the Pentagon could be a national-security risk.
… Heavily featured in the list are a new generation of tech-centric defense contractors hailing from Silicon Valley, a break with the old-guard citadel in Northern Virginia. These include officials with GOP mega-donor Peter Thiel’s Palantir and Palmer Luckey’s Anduril.
… Defense is not the only industry group well represented in Hegseth’s Rolodex with business decisions sitting before the Pentagon. Spread out across Hegseth’s Venmo are senior members of UnitedHealth Group, which is based in Minnesota, where Hegseth unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 2012. A UHG vice president, product director, and a public affairs consultant who has represented the health giant all show up as well.
The secretary of defense has been a long-standing proponent of privatizing the Department of Veterans Affairs, even advising the Trump White House during its first term to take steps to outsource more VA health operations, because government health care, in his words, “doesn’t work.” UnitedHealth is already the largest private administrator of Medicare Advantage, the private Medicare option, and would be uniquely well positioned to move into the veterans market should the opportunity present itself. In fact, it already has.
… Little attention was paid during Hegseth’s confirmation hearing to his former role as CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, a Koch-backed initiative that supports privatizing vast swaths of the VA. Numerous individuals with ties to the Koch network appear in Hegseth’s contacts, mainly for the Stand Together group, an umbrella organization that directs funding to various free-market causes. …”
… Heavily featured in the list are a new generation of tech-centric defense contractors hailing from Silicon Valley, a break with the old-guard citadel in Northern Virginia. These include officials with GOP mega-donor Peter Thiel’s Palantir and Palmer Luckey’s Anduril.
… Defense is not the only industry group well represented in Hegseth’s Rolodex with business decisions sitting before the Pentagon. Spread out across Hegseth’s Venmo are senior members of UnitedHealth Group, which is based in Minnesota, where Hegseth unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 2012. A UHG vice president, product director, and a public affairs consultant who has represented the health giant all show up as well.
The secretary of defense has been a long-standing proponent of privatizing the Department of Veterans Affairs, even advising the Trump White House during its first term to take steps to outsource more VA health operations, because government health care, in his words, “doesn’t work.” UnitedHealth is already the largest private administrator of Medicare Advantage, the private Medicare option, and would be uniquely well positioned to move into the veterans market should the opportunity present itself. In fact, it already has.
… Little attention was paid during Hegseth’s confirmation hearing to his former role as CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, a Koch-backed initiative that supports privatizing vast swaths of the VA. Numerous individuals with ties to the Koch network appear in Hegseth’s contacts, mainly for the Stand Together group, an umbrella organization that directs funding to various free-market causes. …”
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Hegseth is not the first politician to get caught in this trap — it happened to Biden when he was first elected POTUS, though his public info was mostly a list of family, so it didn’t get a ton of media attention.
In any event, an excellent reminder to check your privacy settings in Venmo.
In any event, an excellent reminder to check your privacy settings in Venmo.
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“…
Attorneys for the Justice Department have agreed to temporarily restrict staffers associated with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing information in the Treasury Department’s payment system.
The agreement comes after a group of union members and retirees sued the Treasury Department alleging that providing DOGE access to the federal government’s massive payment and collections system — and the personal data housed in it — violated federal privacy laws.
"The Defendants will not provide access to any payment record or payment system of records maintained by or within the Bureau of the Fiscal Service," the proposed order says.
The order would allow exceptions for two special government employees at the Treasury — Tom Krause and Marko Elez — saying they are permitted access "as needed" to perform their duties, "provided that such access to payment records will be 'read only.'"
The restricted access would remain in effect pending a subsequent hearing on the lawsuit. The judge still needs to sign off on the proposed order. …”
www.nbcnews.com
——
A) Horse is out of the barn on info already shared
B) what is oversight mechanism for two excepted employees who report to Musk?
Attorneys for the Justice Department have agreed to temporarily restrict staffers associated with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing information in the Treasury Department’s payment system.
The agreement comes after a group of union members and retirees sued the Treasury Department alleging that providing DOGE access to the federal government’s massive payment and collections system — and the personal data housed in it — violated federal privacy laws.
"The Defendants will not provide access to any payment record or payment system of records maintained by or within the Bureau of the Fiscal Service," the proposed order says.
The order would allow exceptions for two special government employees at the Treasury — Tom Krause and Marko Elez — saying they are permitted access "as needed" to perform their duties, "provided that such access to payment records will be 'read only.'"
The restricted access would remain in effect pending a subsequent hearing on the lawsuit. The judge still needs to sign off on the proposed order. …”
Trump administration agrees to restrict DOGE access to Treasury Department payment systems
The agreement came in response to a lawsuit accusing Treasury of committing an "unlawful action" by giving private info to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
www.nbcnews.com
——
A) Horse is out of the barn on info already shared
B) what is oversight mechanism for two excepted employees who report to Musk?
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Pam Bondi issued a flurry of orders on Day 1 as Trump’s attorney general
“… President Donald Trump’s attorney general issued a flurry of orders Wednesday just after she was sworn in, releasing 14 “first-day” directives. Among them, Bondi ordered the department to set up a task force to examine the “weaponization” of the Justice Department and rein in investigations into foreign influence. She also warned career lawyers at her agency not to try to thwart Trump administration policies. …”
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Continued
“… Bondi directed the “weaponization” group to investigate former special counsel Jack Smith, who brought the two federal criminal cases against Trump: one over Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and another on Trump’s mishandling of classified documents.
And she directed the group to examine “federal cooperation with the weaponization” by the offices of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Bragg’s office brought the criminal hush money case against Trump that ended in his conviction on 34 felony counts of business fraud. James brought a civil fraud lawsuit against Trump and his family business that resulted in a judge ordering Trump to pay a massive civil judgment.
Trump has repeatedly vowed revenge on Bragg and James, both Democrats, saying Bragg should be prosecuted and that James is “grossly incompetent.” Trump and his supporters have also questioned the role of one of the prosecutors in Bragg’s office, Matthew Colangelo, who previously worked at the Justice Department. Trump has pointed to Colangelo’s resume to claim that former President Joe Biden’s administration played a role in bringing the criminal case. …”
“… Bondi directed the “weaponization” group to investigate former special counsel Jack Smith, who brought the two federal criminal cases against Trump: one over Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and another on Trump’s mishandling of classified documents.
And she directed the group to examine “federal cooperation with the weaponization” by the offices of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Bragg’s office brought the criminal hush money case against Trump that ended in his conviction on 34 felony counts of business fraud. James brought a civil fraud lawsuit against Trump and his family business that resulted in a judge ordering Trump to pay a massive civil judgment.
Trump has repeatedly vowed revenge on Bragg and James, both Democrats, saying Bragg should be prosecuted and that James is “grossly incompetent.” Trump and his supporters have also questioned the role of one of the prosecutors in Bragg’s office, Matthew Colangelo, who previously worked at the Justice Department. Trump has pointed to Colangelo’s resume to claim that former President Joe Biden’s administration played a role in bringing the criminal case. …”
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“… Bondi also called for the group to examine “the pursuit of improper investigative tactics and unethical prosecutions” surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, though she sought to draw a distinction from “good-faith actions by federal employees simply following orders from superiors.” …”
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“… Bondi’s memo on law-enforcement prioritiesalso said the FBI will shutter the Foreign Influence Task Force it set up during the first Trump administration. Additionally, the Justice Department will bring charges under the Foreign Agents Registration Act only in “instances of alleged conduct similar to more traditional espionage by foreign government actors,” the memo said.
The move seems to be an effort to shift the Justice Department away from prosecutions related to covert propaganda and behind-the-scenes “malign influence” campaigns. DOJ brought several such cases against Trump allies with mixed results. …”
The move seems to be an effort to shift the Justice Department away from prosecutions related to covert propaganda and behind-the-scenes “malign influence” campaigns. DOJ brought several such cases against Trump allies with mixed results. …”
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“… Bondi also laid down a get-tough policy toward any career lawyers who might seek to undermine the Trump administration’s agenda, even going so far as to raise the possibility of firing attorneys who won’t go along with their superiors.
… “It is therefore the policy of the Department of Justice that any attorney who because of their personal political views or judgments declines to sign a brief or appear in court, refuses to advance good-faith arguments on behalf of the Administration, or otherwise delays or impedes the Department’s mission will be subject to discipline and potential termination, consistent with applicable law,” she added.
That last part could be the rub: Civil service protections and legal ethics rules combine to make it difficult to take action against a government lawyer who says he or she thinks a particular argument is improper, unjustified or unethical.
Already, there have been notable filings in federal cases where Justice Department political appointees have signed pleadings alone, suggesting that career staff declined to do so. …”
… “It is therefore the policy of the Department of Justice that any attorney who because of their personal political views or judgments declines to sign a brief or appear in court, refuses to advance good-faith arguments on behalf of the Administration, or otherwise delays or impedes the Department’s mission will be subject to discipline and potential termination, consistent with applicable law,” she added.
That last part could be the rub: Civil service protections and legal ethics rules combine to make it difficult to take action against a government lawyer who says he or she thinks a particular argument is improper, unjustified or unethical.
Already, there have been notable filings in federal cases where Justice Department political appointees have signed pleadings alone, suggesting that career staff declined to do so. …”
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“… She directed the creation of a “10-7” task force aimed at “seeking justice for victims of the attack and addressing the ongoing threat posed by Hamas and its affiliates, both domestically and abroad.”
In addition to pursuing criminal charges against those involved in the attack, the task force will investigate and prosecute “acts of terrorism, antisemitic civil rights violations, and other federal crimes committed by Hamas supporters in the United States, including on college campuses.” Trump has repeatedly vowed to deport foreign students who are backers of Hamas. …”
In addition to pursuing criminal charges against those involved in the attack, the task force will investigate and prosecute “acts of terrorism, antisemitic civil rights violations, and other federal crimes committed by Hamas supporters in the United States, including on college campuses.” Trump has repeatedly vowed to deport foreign students who are backers of Hamas. …”
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“…
Bondi reignited a long-running legal battle between DOJ and “sanctuary jurisdictions,” or cities or counties that have declined to cooperate with enforcement of federal immigration law.
She ordered the department to “pause the distribution of all funds until a review has been completed” of grants or other money flowing to those jurisdictions.
A similar move by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in Trump’s first term led to lawsuits from localities that said the Justice Department lacked the authority to cut off funding.
Courts reached mixed verdicts, with a federal appeals court in Chicago ruling that the Trump administration appeared to have usurped Congress’ authority to restrict grants and an appeals court in New York finding DOJ’s policy met legal muster. …”
Bondi reignited a long-running legal battle between DOJ and “sanctuary jurisdictions,” or cities or counties that have declined to cooperate with enforcement of federal immigration law.
She ordered the department to “pause the distribution of all funds until a review has been completed” of grants or other money flowing to those jurisdictions.
A similar move by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in Trump’s first term led to lawsuits from localities that said the Justice Department lacked the authority to cut off funding.
Courts reached mixed verdicts, with a federal appeals court in Chicago ruling that the Trump administration appeared to have usurped Congress’ authority to restrict grants and an appeals court in New York finding DOJ’s policy met legal muster. …”
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Trump Considers Labeling Migrants a Measles, Tuberculosis Risk
Advisers have searched for disease threats that would merit emergency health law invoked during Trump’s first term for Covid-19 risk
“… President Trump’s advisers have been looking for evidence of disease threats that would merit reviving a policy they used during the pandemic in his first term to push back migrants who sought asylum at the border, the current and former officials said. The Trump administration sees the emergency health law, known as Title 42, as overriding laws that guarantee migrants a right to request humanitarian protection in the U.S.
White House officials have identified TB and measles as disease threats most likely to warrant invoking Title 42. The Health and Human Services department is sending Public Health Service officers to the border, officials involved in the effort said.
Kansas is experiencing a TB outbreak, and measles cases have been reported recently in states including Texas. It isn’t known whether those cases have any connection to the southern border, where crossings have plummeted in the past year. The general risk from both diseases remains low, public-health officials said. …”