Category Archives: dianne feinstein

Trump administration urged to sanction Russian individuals and groups for election meddling

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A group of Democratic senators is urging the U.S. Treasury Department to impose sanctions on those involved in efforts to interfere in the 2020 elections so far, including those from Russia. “We write to urge you immediately to impose sanctions on individuals, entities and governmental actors seeking to interfere in the 2020 U.S. elections,” the 11 lawmakers, including Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, wrote in a letter Thursday to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “Congress mandated a broad range of sanctions tools, and it is long past time for the administration to send a direct message to President Putin: the U.S. will respond immediately and forcefully to continuing election interference by the government of the Russian Federation and its surrogates, to punish, deter and substantially increase the economic and political costs of such interference.” The U.S. intelligence community has assessed Russia is currently working to “publicly denigrate” Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, according to a statement the Office […]

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Trump administration urged to sanction Russian individuals and groups for election meddling

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A group of Democratic senators is urging the U.S. Treasury Department to impose sanctions on those involved in efforts to interfere in the 2020 elections so far, including those from Russia. “We write to urge you immediately to impose sanctions on individuals, entities and governmental actors seeking to interfere in the 2020 U.S. elections,” the 11 lawmakers, including Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, wrote in a letter Thursday to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “Congress mandated a broad range of sanctions tools, and it is long past time for the administration to send a direct message to President Putin: the U.S. will respond immediately and forcefully to continuing election interference by the government of the Russian Federation and its surrogates, to punish, deter and substantially increase the economic and political costs of such interference.” The U.S. intelligence community has assessed Russia is currently working to “publicly denigrate” Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, according to a statement the Office […]

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein wants to bring back bill that bans strong encryption

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., says it’s time to bring back the encryption legislation she wrote in 2016 that would effectively ban strong encryption as it exists today, Politico reports. Feinstein and Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., introduced the Compliance with Court Orders Act of 2016 early last year following the San Bernardino mass shooting. While the FBI butted heads with Apple over law enforcement’s inability to get into the phone of one of the shooters, Feinstein’s bill was met with great controversy but little legislative support. Never formally introduced, the bill eventually went away until this week following the FBI’s struggles to unlock an iPhone used by the gunman in Sunday’s mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. “I think we ought to move that bill,” Feinstein told Politico this week. Burr and Feinstein are the chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Last year, Burr argued that current […]

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NSA inspector general nominee pledges to investigate contractor leaks, whistleblower protections

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The National Security Agency’s prospective new inspector general testified on Wednesday that he will investigate the intelligence agency’s problem of repeated contractor leaks. Robert Storch, the Justice Department’s deputy inspector general since March 2015, was first nominated in November by then-President Barack Obama. President Donald Trump nominated Storch again in June. Storch would become the NSA’s first independent watchdog. Storch sat before the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday, with questions about leaks sandwiched between inquiries about whistleblower protections at the NSA, two intimately related subjects that have moved to the center of the U.S. political universe over the last several years. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asked that Storch’s new job quickly turn to the issue of NSA’s security woes. “I want to express a concern I have about NSA,” Feinstein said. “Beginning with [Edward] Snowden, we have had three major thefts of people walking out with classified material. I have spoken to the heads […]

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WhatsApp’s Encryption Was Funded By Same Members of Congress Trying to Weaken It

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Don’t just thank WhatsApp for turning on encryption—thank Congress for funding it. Continue reading WhatsApp’s Encryption Was Funded By Same Members of Congress Trying to Weaken It→