“At the bipartisan request of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Intelligence Community reviewed all transcripts for classification and made appropriate redactions. HPSCI voted unanimously in 2018 to publicly release these transcripts, and it is long past time that these are released.”

The transcripts can be accessed here.

Source: ODNI

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“Consistent with its jurisdiction, investigative responsibilities, and building on substantial work undertaken during the last Congress, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (“Committee”) will conduct a rigorous investigation into efforts by Russia and other foreign entities to influence the U.S. political process during and since the 2016 U.S. election.  In addition, the Committee will investigate the counterintelligence threat arising from any links or coordination between U.S. persons and the Russian government and/or other foreign entities, including any financial or other leverage such foreign actors may possess.

“In the more than two years since the Intelligence Community released its assessment of Russia’s malign influence operation targeting the 2016 U.S. elections, much has been learned about the scope and scale of Russia’s attack on our democracy, including how covert and overt Russian activities intersected with individuals associated with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, transition, administration, and business interests, including the Trump Organization.  It is now known that, from late 2015 through early 2017, individuals close to Donald Trump engaged in a significant number of contacts with an array of individuals connected to, or working on behalf of, the Russian government, and that several of these contacts involved efforts to acquire and disseminate damaging information about Hillary Clinton and her campaign, or related to Russia’s desired relief from U.S. sanctions.

“While Special Counsel Robert Mueller continues his investigation into whether there were “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the [Trump] campaign,” and whether any crimes were committed in connection with, or arising from, that investigation, the Committee must fulfill its responsibility to provide the American people with a comprehensive accounting of what happened, and what the United States must do to protect itself from future interference and malign influence operations.

“During the prior Congress, the Committee began to pursue credible reports of money laundering and financial compromise related to the business interests of President Trump, his family, and his associates. The President’s actions and posture towards Russia during the campaign, transition, and administration have only heightened fears of foreign financial or other leverage over President Trump and underscore the need to determine whether he or those in his Administration have acted in service of foreign interests since taking office.

“Unfortunately, these and numerous other avenues of inquiry were not completed during the last Congress.  Now, in the 116th Congress, the Committee’s investigation will focus principally on five interconnected lines of inquiry, beginning with these incomplete or unexamined investigative threads:

(1)    The scope and scale of the Russian government’s operations to influence the U.S. political process, and the U.S. government’s response, during and since the 2016 election;

(2)    The extent of any links and/or coordination between the Russian government, or related foreign actors, and individuals associated with Donald Trump’s campaign, transition, administration, or business interests, in furtherance of the Russian government’s interests;

(3)    Whether any foreign actor has sought to compromise or holds leverage, financial or otherwise, over Donald Trump, his family, his business, or his associates;

(4)    Whether President Trump, his family, or his associates are or were at any time at heightened risk of, or vulnerable to, foreign exploitation, inducement, manipulation, pressure, or coercion, or have sought to influence U.S. government policy in service of foreign interests; and

(5)    Whether any actors – foreign or domestic – sought or are seeking to impede, obstruct, and/or mislead authorized investigations into these matters, including those in the Congress.

“The Committee may pursue additional lines of inquiry regarding matters that arise from the investigation, and it intends to cooperate with other congressional committees, as needed, on matters of overlapping interest.  The Committee also plans to develop legislation and policy reforms to ensure the U.S. government is better positioned to counter future efforts to undermine our political process and national security.

“As its first act, the Committee has voted to release to the Department of Justice and its components, including the Special Counsel’s Office, transcripts of testimony taken before the Committee during the 115th Congress, with no restrictions on their use.

“The Committee also plans to release to the public all investigation transcripts, as it is committed to providing the American public with greater transparency and insight into Russia’s operations and the U.S. government’s response. To protect ongoing investigative interests and information that remains classified, the Committee will release transcripts in a manner and according to a timetable that allows continued pursuit of important leads and testimony, while ensuring that the American people have faith in the process and can assess for themselves the evidence that has been uncovered, while legitimate national security interests continue to be protected.

“As Chairman of the Committee, I am committed to leading a thorough and impartial investigation that will follow the facts, and I hope that our Minority counterparts will join us in that effort.  Congress has a duty to expose foreign interference, hold Russia to account, ensure that U.S. officials – including the President – are serving the national interest and, if not, are held accountable.”

Source: HPSCI

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The hearing will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 19, in room 1100 of the Longworth Building. It will be livestreamed on the HPSCI website here.

Who:                   House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI)

What:                  Hearing on China’s Threat to American Government and Private ector Research and Innovation Leadership (Open)

When:                 Thursday, July  19, 2018, 8:30 am – 10:30 am ET

Where:                Room 1100, Longworth Building

The hearing witnesses include:

• Michael Pillsbury, Director of the Center on Chinese Strategy, Hudson Institute
• Michael Brown, Symantec Corporation
• James Phillips, Chairman and CEO of NanoMech, Inc.
• Elsa Kania, Adjunct Fellow at Center for a New American Security

Source: HPSCI

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This legislation provides the Intelligence Community (IC) the necessary resources and authorities to ensure they remain capable of protecting and defending the United States, the committee said. The bill supports critical national security programs, particularly those focused on countering threats from China as well as cyberattacks; the legislation does not make any changes to key surveillance authorities.  The total funding levels authorized by the bill are slightly above the President’s budget, balancing fiscal discipline and national security. This legislation:

• Improves Retention and Recruitment of Personnel for Critical Cyber Missions by providing increased pay for certain employees with unique cyber skills;
• Defends against foreign threats to elections by requiring the Director of National Intelligence to electronically publish an unclassified advisory report on foreign counterintelligence and cybersecurity threats to election campaigns for federal offices;
• Protects Key Energy Infrastructure by creating an Infrastructure Security Center within the Department of Energy to coordinate intelligence on significant threats;
• Authorizes enhanced injury benefits to CIA employees injured overseas due to hostile acts or terrorist activities;
• Bolsters intelligence oversight by requiring the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense to develop a framework to assess the numerous roles, missions and functions of the Defense Intelligence Agency;
• Improves IC accountability to Congress by requiring the IC to provide reports on:
  • Investigations of leaks of classified information;
  • Security clearance processing timelines;
  • The process for reviewing information about computer vulnerabilities for retention or potential release; and
  • Russian influence campaigns directed at foreign elections

The bill will now advance for a vote by the full House of Representatives.

Source: HPSCI

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The hearing will be held at 9:00 am on Thursday, May 17, in room 2212 of the Rayburn Building. It will be livestreamed on the HPSCI website here.

Who: House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI)

What:   Hearing on China’s Worldwide Military Expansion (Open)

When:   Thursday, May 17, 2018,  9:00 am – 11:00 am ET

Where:  Room 2212, Rayburn Building

The hearing witnesses include:

• Dan Blumenthal, American Enterprise Institute
• Captain James E. Fanell (Ret.)
• Richard D. Fisher Jr., International Assessment and Strategy Center
• Patricia M. Kim, Council on Foreign Relations

Source: HPSCI

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“The Committee has discovered serious violations of the public trust, and the American people have a right to know when officials in crucial institutions are abusing their authority for political purposes. Our intelligence and law enforcement agencies exist to defend the American people, not to be exploited to target one group on behalf of another. It is my hope that the Committee’s actions will shine a light on this alarming series of events so we can make reforms that allow the American people to have full faith and confidence in their governing institutions.”

The memo is available here and here.

Source: HPSCI

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A crucial tool used by the Intelligence Community to thwart terror attacks, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows for targeted intelligence collection on foreign terrorists located outside the United States. The bill will renew Section 702 authorities for four years while making key reforms to strengthen privacy protections for Americans. Without renewal, the authorities will expire on December 31, 2017.

For more information on the bill, click here.

Source: HPSCI

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A crucial tool used by the Intelligence Community to thwart terror attacks, Section 702 allows for targeted intelligence collection on foreign terrorists located outside the United States. The bill—the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017 (H.R. 4478)—will renew Section 702 authorities for four years. Without renewal, the authorities will expire on December 31, 2017.

The bill will make key changes to Section 702 and other intelligence authorities to protect Americans’ privacy rights while retaining the program’s effectiveness in combatting terrorism. Specifically, the bill:

• Restricts the use of Section 702 collection in criminal prosecutions of U.S. citizens except in a small number of specific circumstances.
• Requires specific procedures for the querying of Section 702 collection that must be annually reviewed by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
• Mandates new procedures for unmasking Americans’ names in intelligence reports in order to better safeguard Americans’ privacy rights and civil liberties.
• Improves transparency by mandating the publication of Section 702 minimization procedures as well as requiring additional reporting to Congress on how the Intelligence Community is using other FISA authorities.
• Temporarily ceases “abouts” collection—involving the collection of communications that refer to, but are neither to nor from, a specific target—until the Intelligence Community presents Congress with new procedures for “abouts” collection that address compliance concerns.
• Enhances the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board by empowering it to act in the absence of a Chairman.
• Codifies in statute the privacy and civil liberties officers at the NSA, CIA, and FBI.

HPSCI Chairman Devin Nunes said, “It’s a constant challenge to strike the right balance between security and privacy—this balance must be regularly re-evaluated in response to technological innovations and the evolution of threats to U.S. forces and Americans at home and abroad. This bill updates the rules on Section 702 and other collection by strengthening privacy protections and transparency without hindering the ability of our intelligence professionals to monitor terror suspects, analyze collected data, and keep us safe.”

HPSCI will mark up the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017 on December 1. The bill text is available here.

Source: HPSCI

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The IAA, which was approved as part of the omnibus spending bill, ensures that the programs and activities of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) are authorized by law, fully resourced, and subject to rigorous congressional oversight. Focusing on current terrorism threats as well as other long-term challenges, the bill includes provisions to ensure good governance and fiscal responsibility, strengthen our technical collection and analysis capabilities in cyberspace and other domains, and better ensure continuous IC accountability throughout the year. The legislation does not include any provisions related to surveillance authorities.

The IAA’s final text is the result of agreement between the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. It is largely the same as the most recent version of the IAA (H.R. 6480), which was approved in the House by unanimous consent on December 8, 2016. Overall, today’s bill:

• Sustains critical capabilities to fight terrorism and counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

• Enhances efforts against nation-state competitors, in particular, by increasing scrutiny of Russian activities, including Russia’s covert influence efforts and its compliance with the Open Skies Treaty.

• Requires declassification reviews of intelligence on past terrorist activities of individuals transferred from Guantanamo Bay to foreign countries; and, if any such intelligence is declassified, also requires public release of information about how such countries are mitigating threats posed by the former detainees.

• Prevents the executive branch from charging greater reproduction fees for mandatory declassification reviews than it would charge for Freedom of Information Act requests.

• Clarifies eligibility for death benefits for Central Intelligence Agency personnel.

• Improves Intelligence Community reporting to Congress.

House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes said, “The IAA is the most critical legislation in Congress for providing the Intelligence Community with the resources and authorities it needs to protect the American people from terrorists, cyber-attacks, and hostile nation-states. The Act will also ensure robust congressional oversight of the Intelligence Community’s activities. I look forward to the Act’s swift passage in the Senate and the President signing it into law.”

Ranking Member Adam Schiff said, “This year’s intelligence authorization will ensure that our military and intelligence agencies and professionals have the resources, authorities and capabilities they need to protect our nation. The IAA will also ensure that we will maintain thorough and tenacious oversight, particularly to ensure that Americans’ privacy and civil liberties are protected. I look forward to its passage in the Senate, and the President signing it into law.”

Source: HPSCI

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Contrary to Snowden’s self-portrayal as a principled whistleblower, the report reveals that he was a disgruntled employee who had frequent conflicts with his managers and was reprimanded just two weeks before he began illegally downloading classified documents. Although he claims to have been motivated by privacy concerns, the report finds that Snowden did not voice such concerns to any oversight officials, and his actions infringed on the privacy of thousands of government employees and contractors. Additionally, the vast majority of the documents he stole had no connection to privacy or civil liberties. Furthermore, Snowden’s basic knowledge of NSA programs is thrown into doubt by his failure to pass NSA’s basic annual training on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Snowden’s actions did severe damage to U.S. national security, compromising the Intelligence Community’s anti-terror efforts and endangering the security of the American people as well as active-duty U.S. troops.

Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes said, “Edward Snowden is no hero – he’s a traitor who willfully betrayed his colleagues and his country. He put our servicemembers and the American people at risk after perceived slights by his superiors. In light of his long list of exaggerations and outright fabrications detailed in this report, no one should take him at his word. I look forward to his eventual return to the United States, where he will face justice for his damaging crimes.”

Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff said, “Snowden has long portrayed himself as a truth-seeking whistleblower whose actions were designed solely to defend privacy, and whose disclosures did no harm to the country’s security. The Committee’s Review—a product of two years of extensive research—shows his claims to be self-serving and false, and the damage done to our national security to be profound. The Review also shows that the Intelligence Community still has much to do to institutionalize post-Snowden reforms to protect the nation’s sources and methods.”

NSA and Cybersecurity Subcommittee Chairman Lynn Westmoreland said, “Edward Snowden made a decision that did more damage to U.S. national security than any other individual in our nation’s history. His actions harmed our relationships around the world, endangered American soldiers in warzones, and reduced our allies’ collective ability to prevent terrorist attacks. Snowden must be prosecuted and he should receive the full punishment afforded by law for his actions. The resolve of those of us who fully understand the nature of the man and the damage he caused will not falter in our quest to bring him to justice.”

NSA and Cybersecurity Subcommittee Ranking Member Jim Himes said, “I appreciate this report and regret only that more of its conclusions cannot be made public. Two things are clear: Snowden stole immense quantities of classified information irrelevant to the important debate on privacy and surveillance, much of which puts at risk our men and women in uniform. Furthermore, this, and Snowden’s flight to our adversaries is inconsistent with the estimable tradition of civil disobedience.”

Although the Intelligence Committee’s 36-page report, which contains 230 footnotes, is classified, it is available to all members of the House of Representatives. An unclassified executive summary is available here.

Separately, all Intelligence Committee members sent a bipartisan letter to President Obama today urging him not to pardon Edward Snowden. The letter is available here.

Source: HPSCI

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