While Tamara and John covered Congressman Gaetz’s and his colleagues’ stupidity earlier today, I wanted to focus a little more on just why exactly this wasn’t just a stupid stunt, but was very, very, very bad in terms of Information Security (INFOSEC). It has now been reported that Congressman Gaetz gave the House Minority Leader, Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), a heads up about what he had planned.
NEW â House Minority Leader McCarthyâs office was told in advance that its rebel members would storm the SCIF today. They support it. https://t.co/hthVNifnAG
W/ @sambrodey
— Sam Stein (@samstein) October 23, 2019
We don’t know if this was done verbally face to face, by text, or by phone call. My guess is either verbally face to face or phone call. But these chuckleheads seem to be enamored of WhatsApp, which is notoriously insecure despite claiming to be a secure method of texting and calling, so they may have used that.
We also now know that this was coordinated with the President.
NEW: Trump had advance knowledge and supported a protest by Republicans who told him they planned to barge into a secure hearing room on Capitol Hill where Democrats are holding impeachment testimonies, according to four people familiar with the matter.https://t.co/FD93uj4HNW
— Kevin Whitelaw (@KevinWhitelaw1) October 23, 2019
In this case, because it was reported, we know it was done by face to face communication.
And this is where the Information Security issues really come into play. If you recall from my posts from May 2018 and September 2019 we know from reporting in Wired and Politico that the President calls, texts, and tweets from a pair of unsecured smart phones and that allied, peer competitor, and hostile foreign countries have set up mobile wireless interception devices near the White House to intercept these electronic communications. Congressman Gaetz has publicly bragged of his relationship with the President. Congressman McCarthy’s has been reported on as well, especially involving red and pink Starbursts candies. If you were an allied, partnered, peer competitor, or hostile foreign power and wanted to try to gain access to the President’s communications, one way to do it would be to try to hack either Gaetz’s or McCarthy’s cell phones. Or those of any number of the other 30 Republican members of Congress and their staffers who pulled this stupid stunt today.
These morons, in an attempt to create a spectacle that will take over the news cycle about impeachment so that the majority of the public that isn’t paying close attention at all times just throws its hands up in disgust, didn’t just force entry into the House of Representatives’ Secure Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), they brought their unsecured cell phones with them. Moreover, they then took imagery with those phones – pictures and/or videos – of classified spaces and, potentially, any classified information that had been taken out in advance of the deposition and was in public view for those members of the House, Republicans and Democrats alike, who actually had the need to know to access it today. And then they started texting and tweeting and emailing that out. On unsecured devices and unsecured and non-governmental networks! This required, as was reported, the SCIF to be closed once they finished their pizza, Chick Fil-A, their stunt and finally gave up and left, so it could be swept and resecured before the delayed deposition could finally take place. What Congressman Gaetz, Congressman Scalise who is the #2 Republican in the House/Republican House Caucus, and their 28 or so colleagues did wasn’t just a stupid stunt, it was a major security violation.
How major? Off the top of my head the number of Federal felonies committed by Gaetz and his colleagues is:
- Forced entry into a SCIF
- Criminal trespass in a SCIF
- Bringing unsecured electronic devices into a SCIF
- Taking imagery – pictures and video – of classified spaces and materials on unsecured devices
- Transmitting imagery – pictures and video – of classified spaces and materials on unsecured devices to unsecured devices through a variety of unsecured platforms (texting, tweeting, emailing, etc)
It has now been reported that Congressman Thompson (D-MS), the chair of the House Homeland Security Committee has asked the House Sergeant of Arms to take action agains Gaetz and his colleagues.
JUST IN: House Homeland Security Committee Chairman asks sergeant at arms to âtake actionâ against Republicans who charged into the SCIF. Doesnât explain what action he wants: pic.twitter.com/nBT5qgUOsF
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) October 23, 2019
I don’t know what exactly Congressman Thompson has in mind, as he doesn’t specify in his letter, but here’s what should happen at a minimum.
- Each of the cell phones, smart phones, tablets, and/or any other electronic devices that these 30 Republican members of the House and their staffers brought with them into the House SCIF need to be confiscated by the House’s Special Security Officer (SSO).
- Each of these devices then needs to be forensically checked for any hacking and/or malware and the results of those checks passed to the appropriate counterintelligence officials for follow up.
- Each of these devices should, at a minimum, be completely wiped before being returned to their owners. The appropriate action is to actually destroy them.
- The staffers who accompanied these House Republicans should have their access immediately terminated, their clearances suspended pending a completed counterintelligence investigation, and they should be suspended from duties and barred from returning to work until that investigation is completed. While I won’t prejudge the outcomes of such an investigation, frankly, they should be terminated and their files flagged at the Defense Security and Counterintelligence Agency (DSCA), which is now in charge of overseeing all clearances, to prevent them from every obtaining a clearance again.
- While I doubt it will happen because they are Constitutional Officers of the United States, because they are elected members of the House of Representatives and will claim their actions today are covered under the Speech and Debate Clause, the 30 or so Republican members of the House should also have their access immediately terminated, their clearances suspended pending a completed counterintelligence investigation, and they should be suspended from duties and barred from returning to work until that investigation is completed. Here too their files should be flagged at the Defense Security and Counterintelligence Agency (DSCA) to prevent them from every obtaining a clearance again.
I expect that while Congressman Gaetz and the 29 or so other Republican members of the House that committed multiple felonies with him this morning are unlikely to face any really serious repercussions, that their staffers will not be so lucky. Those men and women, who based on the video being televised all appeared to be in their 20s and 30s, are likely to have their professional lives ruined by this as they don’t have the same protections that members of the House do. Especially, since Congressman Gaetz has already thrown the staffer that accompanied him to the wolves.
**Tweet from Staff**
— Former Congressman Matt Gaetz (@FmrRepMattGaetz) October 23, 2019
Lest Congressman Gaetz get away with that, here’s the picture of him taking video on his unsecured smart phone when he illegally entered the House’s SCIF. Kind of hard to miss the sign!
I would like to think that Speaker Pelosi has had a long, serious talk with Congressman McCarthy about the behavior of his caucus members, what is and is not appropriate behavior, and what will and will not be tolerated going forward. If she is as good as reported and as many of us believe she is, then nuts will be cut over this, even if public examples are not made.
Regardless, if you were a foreign actor – allied, partner, peer competitor, or hostile – and you’ve been trying to collect Signals Intelligence on what the US is doing, what Congressman Gaetz and his Republican colleagues and their staffers did today was unearned profit.
Open thread!
Patricia Kayden
Mike in NC
Today’s event with these pinheads is just going to be another impeachment article, filed under “Attempted Obstruction of Justice”
Mary G
Oh, I want to watch!
ETA: It’s especially rude and chickenshit to do this while the Speaker was in Baltimore at her big brother’s funeral. She’s been in Jordan and Afghanistan trying to mend fences and she has to cope with these middle school hooligans.
ruemara
I don’t think anything or anyone will face a consequence over this.
Adam L Silverman
@Mary G: I cannot imagine she’s amused.
kindness
When Trump does leave office (never soon enough) there is going to be a lot of damaged help looking for wingnut welfare jobs. I don’t think they’ll be so lucky.
dmsilev
Public examples should be made. Censure votes for all of the assholes involved. Take the cost of resanitizing the room out of their office budgets. Take away their phones. Expulsion from any committee requiring a clearance. Etc. All of that is within the power of the House and doesn’t require Barr to cooperate in felony charges (because of course he won’t).
Yutsano
@ruemara: This is well within statute of limitations for when this interregnum ends next year. The consequences might be long in coming, but they will be.
ruemara
@kindness:
He won’t leave until the judiciary & enough Senate & House seats are in GOP hands that he & his whelps are free to live happily after selling out the country. Preferably if he can have Obama & Clinton in jail if not dead, to satisfy his ego. But mostly to protect his hide from jail or giving back any money.
Wapiti
@ruemara: Maybe not the members of congress, but I’ll bet the staffers get hammered.
ruemara
@Wapiti:
That will definitely show those congressmen.
Adam L Silverman
@dmsilev: I agree with you completely, but I’m also not advising Speaker Pelosi.
Calouste
While checking those devices for malware, also check them for child p0rn. Out of 30 GOP representatives, you’d be sure to find something.
Mr Stagger Lee
@ruemara: They are going to get bolder and bolder. I willing to bet, the GOP gets wiped out in 2020, they won’t leave including the Dotard and why not, they got away with before and it will happen again.
Ruckus
@Patricia Kayden:
Law and order for them is whatever the hell they want it to be whenever the hell they want it. Their definition of the words are not in MW. Those definitions are made up in their tiny little piss ant brains in the manner of any 5 yr old brat who is screwing with their 4 yr old sister. Remember, their world rotates about the stick stuck up trump’s ass. Their level of intelligence is obvious by the fact that they think trump is smart.
ruemara
@Mr Stagger Lee: yep. Everything not rigged in their favor is âriggedâ.
Another Scott
Twitter:
Eyes on the prize.
Cheers,
Scott.
Mike in NC
Mug shot of Gaetz makes it look like he would have fit right in at the Charlottesville Riot, wearing khakis and a polo shirt, handing out tiki-torches. Can he prove he didn’t march?
Adam L Silverman
@Calouste: My money’s on Brooks for that. Scalise, given his connection to white supremacy, will just be interracial. The nutbar dentist from Arizona and Gohmert is probably femdom.
dimmsdale
Who exactly has legal responsibility for exacting just desserts here? If Main Justice has any statutory responsibility, well forget THAT. What can the sergeant at arms and/or House security actually do, and who’s supposed to initiate action for them to follow thru on? Can the House actually vote to censure, can House security actually DO what Adam outlines with respect to phone confiscation (wish they could, but…?) I don’t mind for a NY second seeing young staffers having their careers ruined, and even doing jail time, for this–they knew exactly who they were jumping in bed with–but we keep seeing, over and over, Republicans pulling shit like this and even when Democrats have the law on their side they fail to bring it to bear. If there aren’t serious, full-throated repercussions for this, get ready, because it’ll happen again and again. The distraction value alone, while Republican scumbags destroy the republic on the DL, is immense, and garbage people like Gaetz know it.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Mr Stagger Lee:
The Sergeant-At-Arms, his deputies, and the Capitol Police will escort them from the premises after their terms end if they refuse to leave. Losing elections is helluva-lot less legally fuzzy than their little riot today. Trump will also be escorted from the WH by the Secret Service/US Marshals etc, on January 21, 2021
TS (the original)
@ruemara:
No doubt in my mind, this would instigate the 2nd Civil War.
Adam L Silverman
@dimmsdale: The House has the ability to censure these 30 Republican members of the House. The Special Security Officer has armed security he can use to seize their electronic devices should a decision be made to do so. And that SSO’s decisions on who has clearance and who has access is largely final. If an SSO doesn’t want someone read on and given access, even for a reason that is not within the laws, regulations, and guidelines, they won’t be read on and given access. I do not know whether the Capitol Police have any jurisdiction here.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@ruemara:
I’m sure he’d love to have those things happen, but they won’t. If/when he loses in 2020, he will leave when his term ends whether he wants to or not. The SS will make sure of that. They serve the nation and the current President, while upholding the Constitution; he won’t be the president anymore
ruemara
@TS (the original): That’s what they’re hoping for anyway.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
While that would be a fine birthday present for me, it would actually happen at noon on January 20th.
Leto
Because of course theyâre fucking liars:
Hereâs why the Matt Gaetz sit-in stunt was particularly weird
I mean we know theyâre lying, but people who arenât following it like we are might not know this. Which, much to my eternal fucking rage, is irritating.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Adam L Silverman:
They do, but a 2/3 vote of the House is required, right? That’s 287 votes roughly. The Dem majority is only 234.
Aleta
@Another Scott:
?BillinGlendaleCA
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: 2/3’s is for expulsion, I believe that only a majority is needed for censure.
mrmoshpotato
@Mary G: I prefer crushed nuts.
“Welcome to the Hydraulic Press Channel. Today we are going to crush some Russthuglican nuts.”
PeakVT
IANAL, but I am pretty sure Speech and Debate does not apply because 1) not speech or debate, 2) not “any other place” – still on legislative grounds, 3) each chamber has power to make rules and punish members (and expel, but the 2/3 majority does not exist in this era).
Mr Stagger Lee
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: I would love to be wrong on this, but I saw the Gaetz and his bastards take a wizz on justice, on Americans who love and serve this nation, on the rule of law, and will continue to do this, until someone stands up to him. Who is going to do it? My patriotism is slowly being replaced by Cynicism.
Adam L Silverman
@Aleta: Paragon of courage Senator Graham is.
PeakVT
If Trump provided prior blessing, and either received communication during or after of info from the SCIF, that should be another article of impeachment.
“Faithfully” execute the laws, m’fer.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Thanks. I wasn’t sure if it the 20th or the 21st
@Leto:
Bill Johnson of Ohio, who is thankfully not my House Rep (that honor goes to Tim Ryan; as bad as he is, he’s not a Rethug) but is the rep for a nearby district, also apparently participated in the riot. He owns a local business and used to host my county’s GOP Party HQ in his building. The local party is just as bad as the national party. It’s assholes all the way down and I hope to God they never takeover the county, even though the local Dems are conservadems at best
Butter emails!!!
@Aleta:
He’s got that bass ackwards. The Occupy Wall Street movement was largely a peaceful occupation of public spaces. Barging into a secure area where you do not belong and are not invited is by definition forceful entry, unless Graham thinks that me barging through his front door, plopping down on his couch, making cell phone videos and ordering pizza is AOK.
mrmoshpotato
@?BillinGlendaleCA: And for your 2021CE birthday, how many candles do we put on the cake, and how many times does Dump get kneed in the groin?
Kattails
Adam and everyone, thank you so much for all the clarifying information. We actually have a local, daily independent newspaper and this is excellent letter fodder.
This is getting very creepy, they’re becoming a willing, self-reinforcing, fascist mob. The MSM cannot be trusted to call this out. Just because you are an elected member of anything, you can’t be insulated from the response to your deliberate felony actions. They’re testing the ropes and need to be throttled with them. I grew up being bullied pretty relentlessly and there were never any damned consequences for the perpetrators; it’s left me, half a century later, with a small, hard core of fury & a lingering anxiety. This sh8t is triggering. They need to be called out at every chance, in every venue.
My heart goes out to Speaker Pelosi, surely this was done deliberately as a nasty little insult while she was dealing with such a deeply distressing personal matter.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
You’re right. House leadership should definitely censure all involved. I’m sure it would feed their sense of victimhood but at least that would be something. Hell, since McCarthy knew and sanctioned this, he should also be censured
@Aleta:
No they didn’t. 13 of them already had a fucking right to be there. These are closed-door because that’s how depositions fucking work. What, did he think the Gang of 30 stormed the room with AR-15s?
mrmoshpotato
@Aleta: Apparently 3 hours is how long Lindsay can go without sucking Dump’s ass.
mrmoshpotato
@Butter emails!!!: What’s a little B&E&OL* to Russthiglicans?
*Breaking and entering and ordering lunch.
Seriously, the whole ‘ordering pizza’ is just weird. Was it like “Carry on with your confidential meeting. We’ll be gone once Domino’s gets here.”
Anya
Sadly, no one will face any consequences. Sometimes, I think Democrats are the only ones who value process and respecting the rules of Congress. Itâs depressing.
Leto
Maddow has audio from R-WV Alex Mooneyâs phone call from the SCIF: âThis is Alex Mooney and Iâm calling live from the SCIF…â
Again, insanity.
Sam
@ruemara: Adam had it correct. The staffers have no immunity and it is almost certainly the case that their security clearances will be suspended and eventually revoked.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@mrmoshpotato: 61.
AliceBlue
I was hoping you would do a post on this Adam. Thanks.
SFAW
I think it would be good humor to point out to Pinhead Gaetz that the Rosenbergs were not tried for Treason, but for (I believe) espionage. I will of course defer to Adam or Cheryl — hell, probably anyone here — regarding the actual definition, but I’m thinking that Gaetz taking a video in a designated secure area might be considered espionage. After all, we don’t know where he sent any information captured by his dumbfuck’sphone.
At the very least, I’d like to see him sweated for a couple of days, by intelligence investigators, over this.
?BillinGlendaleCA
I have a friend who works in a SCIF, I should ask him if I should stop by tomorrow, bring my cellphone, take some pictures and order a pizza.
ETA: We talked last week on why he can’t use a smartwatch.
Sam
Gaetzâ law license is likely gone also. Unlawful acts like this are not tolerated by the bar
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Sam: Eh, it’s the Floriduh bar. Wait, he’s an attorney?
dimmsdale
@Adam L Silverman: Thanks, Adam. So is it the SSO that can decide to seize electronic equipment (like maybe tomorrow, if the SSO decides today’s conduct is that egregious) or does the SSO act on a request from the Speaker? The “uncharted waters” nature of this is a little unnerving; I doubt either Capitol police or the SSO has much experience sticking up for the rule of law against a crowd of 30-35 so-called “lawmakers”, so I guess this is yet another instance where we get to see if our institutions really function as per theory, and if those who swore oaths will keep them when the need arises. If Republicans keep acting like this in the Capitol itself, security and law enforcement will HAVE to seize potentially insecure electronics, AND put hands on legislators who break rules….won’t they?
Adam L Silverman
@Kattails:
Adam L Silverman
@Leto: Mooney, like Gaetz, once he realized what he’d done also blamed it on a staffer. Claiming it was the staffer who made the call in his name.
Bill Arnold
Don’t the contacts list, phone logs, whatsapp/signal/etc logs, etc need to be examined as well during a counterintelligence investigation?
(e.g. obvious contacts with Russian/Chinese nationals.)
I’m frankly surprised they brought their phones. They must have been utterly convinced that there would be no consequences/confiscation of phones. Many street demonstrators know better (not counting the brave live-streaming maniacs) and leave phones at home or bring an alt-phone because law enforcement often gets heavy handed even during peaceful protests. (Perhaps some of the Rs did too, but I expect not many.)
Adam L Silverman
@AliceBlue: You’re welcome.
Leto
@Adam L Silverman: That is such a fucking Republican thing to do.
Adam L Silverman
@SFAW: People are very rarely prosecuted under the Espionage Act. In this case there are other specific violation these chuckleheads could be charged with that wouldn’t require trying to actually use the Espionage Act.
NotMax
Florida, 2000: Hanging chads.
Capitol Hill, 2019: Ganging cads.
Adam L Silverman
@Sam: The Florida bar isn’t going to cross his dad. They’ll issue a rebuke like they did over his threat against Michael Cohen.
trollhattan
Well now, that final photo is pretty damning all by its ownself.
Adam L Silverman
@dimmsdale: The SSO has the authority to take whatever action he or she needs. Some of those actions, such as who gets clearance and/or access, can be overruled by the person the SSO works for, in this case most likely the Speaker through the House Sergeant at Arms.
James E Powell
@Adam L Silverman:
Why not? Everybody else on the internet – including me – does it every day. C’mon! Join in the fun!
mrmoshpotato
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Ok. And another 61 knees to Dump’s groin for good luck.
That’s how that works, right?
WV Blondie
@Adam L Silverman: There actually are pictures of Mooney (I normally call him ALEC Money, for the obvious reason) using his phone in the SCIF on Twitter. In fact, the picture at the end of this diary – that looks more like Mooney’s back than Gaetz’s. Mooney is my elected tub-o-lard, and I met him almost 20 years before he carpetbagged the district.
Adam L Silverman
@WV Blondie: I’m sure there are. But given the color and style of hair, I’m pretty sure that’s Gaetz in that second/last picture up top. And my condolences regarding your MOC.
SFAW
@Adam L Silverman:
Understood. I was thinking of using it more to put the fear of god into that fuckhead. Most of those assholes think they can do whatever they want without consequence; Making an example of Gaetz — even if there’s no intention of trying him — might get them to stop being traitorous bastards. Maybe only for a day or two, but that’s a day or two more than we get now.
Wag
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Wait a minute. These clowns had PIZZA delivered to the top security room? Sweep the fucking pizza boxes for bugs! God only knows what Putin was able to arrange after his heads up from Trump.
Starfish
Like someone else pointed out in an earlier thread, Marcy Wheeler pointed out that some of these folks had access to the information because of their committee memberships. Could leadership strip them of their seats on their committees for doing this garbage or demote them on their committees?
Adam L Silverman
@Starfish: Leadership could, but the Republican committee assignments are up to Kevin McCarthy, which is why you have bozos on these committees doing really serious work. They’re not there to actually do that serious work, they’re there to create chaos.
Kattails
@Adam L Silverman: He does have a way with words, doesn’t he?
sgrAstar
Great stuff, Dr Silverman. Thank you.
Adam L Silverman
@Kattails: He’s one sharp chief.
Adam L Silverman
@sgrAstar: You are quite welcome.
Uncle Cosmo
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
Cheeto Benito’s term expires at noon on 20 January 2021 (19th Amendment, Section 1). Presuming the American people have beaten him like a rented mule on 5 Nov 2020, should he be physically present on the grounds of the White House or attempt to enter those grounds at or after 12:01 PM that day, he will be trespassing, and the incoming POTUS would be empowered to have him forcibly removed.
I look forward to seeing his personal effects piled haphazardly outside the WH gate like any other evictee. Then again, there’s a not-inconsiderable chance the sick fuck would Koresh the place rather than vacate. “Top of the world, Ma!”
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Uncle Cosmo:
While the interior furnishings of the White House would burn, the building is a steel frame building with stone walls.
ETA: I’m also betting it’s got a state of the art fire suppression system.
burnspbesq
The statute of limitation for most (if not all) of the Federal felonies that were committed today is five years. If we get a proper AG in 2021, no one is out of the woods. They may eventually win with a defense based on the Speech and Debate Clause, but if the fees bankrupt them i can live with that.
Raven Onthill
Yes.
It is unfortunately entirely possible that some of the Representatives are assets of foreign powers, perhaps even agents. Who knows how far the rot has gone? Under Citizens United they can be well paid â one of the (probably unintended) consequences of that decision is to make US elections more vulnerable to foreign powers.
Does one have to entirely demolish and rebuild a compromised SCIF to reestablish its security?
Adam L Silverman
@Raven Onthill: No. Without getting in to specifics, especially as the tech side of this is way outside of my areas of expertise and experience, they come in and do a sweep with sophisticated electronic scanners to check for listening devices. Then they run specialized malware and virus checking software on all the computer systems and recording systems in the SCIF. And they’ll do a physical assessment to ensure that all classified material is accounted for and none of the secure containers for that material was breached. They’ll also go over the visual surveillance to see what each person who wasn’t supposed to be there and/or brought their unsecured devices with them were doing.
Aziz, light!
This will all be forgotten after the next daily outrage drops.
SWMBO
@Aziz, light!: Not by Nancy Smash. Pulling this bullshit may make her more inclined to visit consequences on their sorry asses.
rumpole
Their conduct is likely immunized by the speech and debate clause. However, the Speaker has broad authority to impose “order” in the House–from motions for expulsion to complete denial of office supplies (the last part is an exaggeration, but not by much).