SECRECY & THE SECURITY STATE - page 9

An internal audit of a single private prison caused the US Marshals Service to admit that it wasn’t properly overseeing its for-profit detention facilities. The law enforcement agency said that it would establish onsite monitoring at each one of the fifteen contracted prisons under its purview, when pressed last year by the Justice Department Office of Inspector General. The inspector general’s final report, which was released on Tuesday, had been launched to probe a facility in Leavenworth, Kansas, run by CoreCivic, Inc. Internal auditors had…

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The Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee said he was “extremely troubled” by what he saw in classified records related to Gen. Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former National Security Advisor. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) briefed reporters on Tuesday shortly after reviewing financial disclosures Flynn made when applying for his security clearance. The procedure required Flynn to reveal all income from foreign sources. Flynn had received tens of thousands of dollars in 2015 from various Russian firms, including the state-run news channel, RT. Those appearance fee payments,…

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A hunger strike at a privately-run immigration detention facility in Tacoma, Wash. is slated to enter its third day on Thursday. More than 750 people are participating, according to supporters holding a demonstration at noon on Wednesday, in front of the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC). The rally is being held, in part, to see if the hunger strike will continue. Inmates began refusing meals at lunchtime on Monday, in protest over conditions at the privately-run prison. Specifically, they want speedier hearings, improved food and healthcare…

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Needing more jail space to carry out sweeping deportation actions, the Trump administration may gut safe detainment regulations to entice local prisons to offer up their cells for the effort. The new contracts with jailers would roll back many of the protections afforded to detained immigrants under the Obama administration, including medical care upon request within 24 hours and translation services. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rules that required suicidal detainees to be checked on every 15 minutes, and notification when individuals spend more than…

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A lawsuit filed on Tuesday alleges that the Department of Defense failed to account for hazardous waste at the Guantanamo Bay military prison, which has contributed to high cancer rates of personnel onsite. The legal actions were brought by attorneys who work out of the facility’s Camp Justice—the hub for military commission proceedings. The suit notes that nine individuals who have worked at the camp have been diagnosed with cancer. Three have since died. “For years, personnel have raised concerns regarding conditions and environmental contamination…

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions is putting a halt to both independent and internal Justice Department work designed to improve the reliability of police testimony. Sessions announced Monday that he would end the federally-funded National Commission on Forensic Science (NCFS). The Department also said the same day that it would “suspend” a broad review of FBI crime scene analysis techniques, according to The Washington Post. In justifying his decisions, Sessions leaned heavy on federalist language, saying: “the vast majority of forensic science is practiced by state…

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The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has agreed to a request from Democratic lawmakers to review President Trump’s transition for possible conflicts of interest and unusual foreign contacts. The GAO’s fact-finding mission will focus on how public funds were managed during the period before the President took office, if the proper financial disclosures of transition officials were made, and whether national security protocols were followed with overseas communications. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) formally requested the GAO investigation last November. “Mr. Trump’s…

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A coalition of transparency advocacy groups filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to compel President Trump’s protective detail to turn over the names of individuals that he is meeting. The scope of the FOIA action includes visitor names and the dates they met with the President at the White House and at other Trump residences: Mar-a-Lago in Florida, and Trump Tower in New York. The lawsuit was initiated by the liberal non-profit group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). The National Security…

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A select group on Capitol Hill is notified on a near monthly basis that US lawmakers and their staff often have their conversations collected by intelligence agencies. The so-called Gang of Eight are the only ones on Capitol Hill privy to the intercept notifications, and they’re briefed “as often as once a month,” according to a report by Circa. The gang includes Democratic and Republican leadership posts in the House and Senate, and intelligence committee chairs and ranking members from both chambers. News of the…

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During a hearing Wednesday with the Homeland Security chief, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) ripped apart the Trump administration’s plans for “extreme vetting” of foreign travelers. She was then accused of fomenting hysteria by her colleague, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who warned that people were trying to bring cell phone bombs aboard airplanes. The heated back-and-forth occurred during proceedings before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, featuring testimony from DHS Secretary John Kelly. “You’ve got to understand, Secretary Kelly,” McCaskill said, “if they know we’re going to…

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In a dramatic display that stretched across two committee hearings on Tuesday, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) subpoenaed the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration for documents on its confidential sources program. Members of Congress have been seeking copies of the DEA’s informant guidelines since last year, following an eye-opening report by the Department of Justice watchdog. The agency’s inspector general detailed how the agency doled out more than $200 million to confidential sources with very little oversight. Lawmakers have only been allowed to view the…

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