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Newer News: April 2015

March 2015 Intelligence News

• Hydrogen Bomb Physicist's Book Runs Afoul of Energy Department by William J. Broad, New York Times, March 23. "A physicist who helped devise the weapon more than half a century ago has defied a federal order to cut from his new book material that the government says teems with thermonuclear secrets."
• What Lies Beneath by Scott C. Johnson, Foreign Policy, March 23. "In the 1960s, hundreds of pounds of uranium went missing in Pennsylvania. Is it buried in the ground, poisoning locals--or did Israel steal it to build the bomb?"
• PCLOB Request for Public Comment on Activities Under Executive Order 12333, Federal Register, March 23. "The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board is examining counterterrorism activities conducted under the Executive Order pertaining to the United States Intelligence Activities and their implications for privacy and civil liberties. As such, the PCLOB seeks public input to inform the Board's examination of activities conducted under the Executive Order."
• NGA announces creation of unclassified lab to answer key intelligence questions, NGA news release, March 16. "The director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency announced today the GEOINT Pathfinder project to answer key intelligence questions using only unclassified data, at a gathering of industry representatives at the agency's Virginia headquarters." (Text of NGA Director Cardillo's remarks)
• In Light of Petraeus Plea, Attorney for Stephen Kim Seeks His Immediate Release, letter from Abbe Lowell, March 5. "The decision to permit General Petraeus to plead guilty to a misdemeanor demonstrates more clearly than ever the profound double standard that applies when prosecuting so-called 'leakers' and those accused of disclosing classified information for their own purposes."
• Some NSA Friends in Congress Admit They Don't Use Email by Steven Nelson, U.S. News, March 9. "It's surprising to hear that any national political figure would be unfamiliar with email," he says. "It suggests a lack of competence or a lack of curiosity about one of the features of contemporary life."
• Senate torture report: An exception in CIA oversight by Ken Dilanian, Associated Press, March 9. "The resulting report, a summary of which was released in December, was a rare instance of an oversight committee seeking to hold the CIA accountable in a public way. It also was the most detailed critique of the CIA in a generation."
• Petraeus, Justice and Washington's Culture of Leaks by Eli Lake, BloombergView, March 4. "But classified information hasn't been safe in Washington for some time now. The Petraeus affair is in this sense a small scandal. The much larger one is that some leakers are punished mildly, others are punished harshly and most are not punished at all."
• Hillary Clinton's Homemade System May Have Put Her Email at Risk by Shane Harris, The Daily Beast, March 3. "A server at home kept every message she sent and received as secretary of state--and it was built by a mystery man."
• David Petraeus signs plea deal over giving classified info to mistress by Michael Gordon, Charlotte Observer, March 3. "Former CIA director and retired Gen. David Petraeus is pleading guilty to mishandling classified information, apparently avoiding an embarrassing trial that would have included his affair with Paula Broadwell, according to documents filed in Charlotte on Tuesday."
• David Petraeus Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Removal and Retention of Classified Materials, bill of information, statement of facts, plea agreement, March 3. "All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1924."