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Newer News: August 2011

July 2011 Intelligence News

• Judge: government's treatment of alleged leaker Thomas Drake was 'unconscionable' by Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post Checkpoint Washington, July 29. "A federal judge ripped into U.S. prosecutors' treatment of a former spy agency official accused of leaking classified material, calling delays in the now-closed case 'unconscionable' and comparing it to British tyranny in the colonial era."
• Judge blasted DOJ in NSA leak case by Josh Gerstein, Politico Under the Radar, July 29. "The tongue-lashing a federal judge gave the Justice Department at the sentencing last month for former NSA official Thomas Drake turned out to be even more brutal than was reported."
• Court Orders Release of 1975 Nixon Grand Jury Testimony, court order, July 29. "The requested records shall be unsealed subject to the review procedures of the National Archives and Records Administration." (But a broader petition for release of all sealed Watergate materials was denied.)
• Document: FBI Surveillance Geeks Fear, Love New Gadgets by Kim Zetter, Wired Threat Level, July 28. "According to an internal FBI document, the law enforcement agency has a keen interest in evaluating each new technology for its surveillance possibilities and challenges."
• Administration rebuffs Wyden, Udall on surveillance query by Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post, July 28. "The Obama administration continued Wednesday to resist the efforts of two Democratic senators to learn more about the government's interpretation of domestic surveillance law, stating that 'it is not reasonably possible' to identify the number of Americans whose communications may have been monitored under the statute."
• ODNI on implementation of the FISA Amendments Act, letter to Congress, July 26. "We agree with you that transparency enhances public confidence that the Intelligence Community acts lawfully and in a manner that protects the civil liberty and privacy rights of Americans. To that end, this interim response answers some of your questions concerning how the FISA Amendments Act ("FAA") has been interpreted and implemented."
• William Welch: Obama Administration’s Point Man to Stop Leaks by Shane Harris, Washingtonian Capital Comment blog, July 20. "The prosecutor has been called a tenacious and tough-as-nails lawyer, but also overzealous."
• Alleged CIA leaker wants to subpoena Senate and intel panel aides by Josh Gerstein, Politico Under the Radar, July 11. "A former Central Intelligence Agency officer charged with leaking top-secret information to the press is trying to draw Congress into the case by subpoenaing three current or former Senate Intelligence Committee staffers, court documents show."