SECRECY & THE SECURITY STATE - page 13

The Justice Department’s internal watchdog said Tuesday that a privately-run federal prison in Mississippi is still plagued by the same systemic problems that preceded a deadly riot at the site in May 2012. An investigation published by the agency’s Inspector General concluded that the Natchez-based facility, run by a company now called CoreCivic, has neglected to address the prisons’s shortcomings, since the incident. “Four years after the riot, we were deeply concerned to find that the facility was plagued by the same significant deficiencies in…

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A survey of nearly all fifty states in the country revealed that voter fraud was virtually non-existent during the 2016 election. Only Kansas refused to participate in the review, conducted by the New York Times, which showed that out of more than 137 million votes cast around the nation, there was very little evidence of significant fraud. The results strike a blow to claims often repeated by President-elect Donald Trump and Republican policymakers that millions of people are voting illegally in our elections every year.…

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The intelligence community rejected a request from House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) to provide a briefing to members on Russia’s alleged meddling in last month’s presidential election. The denial prompted Nunes on Wednesday to cast doubt on recent claims coming out of the CIA, including whether or not there really is an agency assessment that Moscow was aiming to help Donald Trump win the presidency. “The Committee is deeply concerned that intransigence in sharing intelligence with Congress can enable the manipulation of intelligence…

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Lawyers for Yemeni men suing the US government, for killing two relatives in drone strikes, made their case on Tuesday before federal appellate judges. Arguing at the DC Circuit in Washington, the attorneys said that a lower court erred in March, when it concluded courts shouldn’t “second-guess the Executive’s policy determination.” District Judge Ellen Huvelle threw out the lawsuit in February. “Plaintiffs are not challenging the prudence of drone strikes or attacking Al-Qaeda,” a brief filed by lawyers in support of the case stated. “Plaintiffs…

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The White House is reportedly thinking about scrapping a controversial immigration surveillance program that has been dormant since 2011, in the final weeks before Donald Trump’s inauguration. President Obama is considering fully ending the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), according to The Guardian. The program targeted foreigners in the US, from a set of almost exclusively Muslim and Arab-majority countries. The lone exception was North Korea. Democratic legislators, immigrants rights groups and civil libertarians have all expressed concerns that President-elect Trump could eventually use the…

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The Inspector General at the US State Department again notified Congress of a blind spot in oversight, and urged lawmakers to pass legislation that would address it. Testifying before a Senate foreign relations subcommittee on Thursday, department IG Steve Linick said his watchdog role is more limited than others in the federal enterprise because of unique procedures at State. Linick specifically mentioned rules that allow department investigators at the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and other agencies to keep the IG’s office in the dark about probes.…

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Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, used a hearing on government transparency Wednesday to demand that the panel take action on allegations that the Russian government interfered in last month’s election. He charged that the committee’s chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), is rebuffing requests for an investigation into the matter. “On November 17, 2016, I wrote a letter to the Chairman requesting that our committee conduct a bipartisan investigation into Russia’s role in interfering and influencing the 2016 presidential…

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Congress made permanent and expanded protections granted to whistleblowers who work for federal contractors, readying the legislation for President Obama’s signature. The House of Representatives approved of the bill on Monday, in a voice vote with the rules under suspension, meaning it garnered support from more than two-thirds of the body. In June, the Senate approved of the measure by unanimous consent. The bill indefinitely extends a pilot whistleblower protection program for contractors, first established in 2013. It also grants the same protections to employees…

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Several Senators penned a letter to President Obama this week, requesting the administration share with the public more information on claims that the Kremlin meddled in the recent US election. Both in the run up to, and after the election, allegations of Russian interference have been bandied around by Democratic political operatives and various news media outlets. Federal investigators, however, have released very little evidence to actually confirm those claims. “We believe there is additional information concerning the Russian Government and the US election that should…

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The FBI is now allowed to hack into computers anywhere in the world using only a single warrant, according to a new rule that was quietly implemented on Thursday. Prior to the new policy taking effect, federal computer investigators could only hack into a computer within the same district where they obtained a warrant from a judge. “Rule 41,” as it is known, changes those procedures, allowing feds to search potentially any computer, regardless of where the warrant was issued. Devices that investigators believe are…

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With the Presidential transition impending, many in Washington are wondering how a new administration will react to government oversight. But as a key watchdog noted at a Congressional hearing on Wednesday, it shouldn’t be up to executive appointees to dictate how federal agencies respond to their overseers. Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said Wednesday that Congress must get involved and implement new rules, to bolster the chances of the public holding the federal government to account. “It shouldn’t be up to who sits in the chair, in the…

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