Intel official fired for NOT lying to Congress: says Feinstein doesn't know what's happening

[nashville_brook]

Intelligence Official Says He Was Fired For Not Lying To Congress; Says Rogers & Feinstein Don't Know What's Happening

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130819/10352824233/intelligence-official-says-he-was-fired-not-lying-to-congress-says-rogers-feinstein-dont-know-whats-happening.shtml

As more and more details come out about the NSA surveillance programs, the federal government is looking more and more ridiculous. The latest comes from a column by John Fund at the National Review Online -- a publication which has been a pretty strong supporter of the surveillance state. The column highlights that even the NSA's staunchest defenders are beginning to get fed up with the NSA as more leaks come out (especially last week's revelation of thousands of abuses). But the really interesting tidbit is buried a bit:

A veteran intelligence official with decades of experience at various agencies identified to me what he sees as the real problem with the current NSA: “It’s increasingly become a culture of arrogance. They tell Congress what they want to tell them. Mike Rogers and Dianne Feinstein at the Intelligence Committees don’t know what they don’t know about the programs.” He himself was asked to skew the data an intelligence agency submitted to Congress, in an effort to get a bigger piece of the intelligence budget. He refused and was promptly replaced in his job, presumably by someone who would do as told.

Yes, it's an unsourced quote, so you can take it with whatever grains of salt you'd like.

However, given the various revelations over the past few weeks and months, it's becoming increasingly clear that Congress does not, in fact, know what the NSA is up to, despite the claims by Rogers and Feinstein that there's strong oversight. Given that we've already seen how NSA agents are told to withhold certain info from those in charge of oversight, combined with the use of a loophole to avoid reporting details of its activities to Congress, the statement above certainly is supported by the various leaks to date.


(snip -- more at link)

[Rex]

1. Clapper wanted to keep his job.

Probably has a pretty cushy retirement package.

[nashville_brook]

4. i cannot begin to imagine the swag that comes with that job.

retirement packages being the least of it. imagine the lobbying. the consulting. hell, i bet there's plenty of people who would sell out the public based on cocktail party invites alone.

[Rex]

21. LOL!

Plus if he gets bored, he can call up some buddies and get a cushy CEO job as a defense contractor.

[progressoid]

36. I think it's more about covering asses and re-writing history.

[Vinnie From Indy]

2. DiSpy probably only needs to know that the NSA

has enough on her and her hubby to end their careers right quick.

[nashville_brook]

5. yes, that's the ugly side of the double-edge sword for sure.

woe be to those with any sort of weirdness in their history.

[cui bono]

22. Ah, yes.... woe is me.

I mean... wait a minute... who said that???

[leftstreet]

3. DURec

[Catherina]

6. Rec'd n/t

[NYC_SKP]

7. Mike Rogers and Dianne Feinstein are Big Fat Liars. Saxby Chambliss, too.

.
Do they look trustworthy to anyone here?

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., center, flanked by Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., vice-chair of the committee at right, and, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 7, 2012, following a closed-door meeting with Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on national security leaks. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

I wonder what they have to gain from being duplicitous and acting like they don't know what's going on?

Why aren't they doing their damn jobs?

[nashville_brook]

9. they seem threatened/fearful in this pic

not at all at ease.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

31. Or they collectively know that no one who has good sense is going to believe them.

[Autumn]

10. I wouldn't buy a used car from any of them.

Hell, I wouldn't accept it if any of them paid me to take the damn thing.

[libdem4life]

25. Diane's Husband... gone beyond autos, but high-speed rail in the the CA desert...$35 million a mile

high speed Madera to Fresno ... while paying the farmworker's what, $6-8 an hour? Cesar Chavez is rolling over in his grave.

"The firms bid $985,142,530 to build the wildly anticipated first section of high speed rail track that will tie the megopolis of Madera to the global finance center of Fresno. Do the division, and you find that the low bid came in at a mere $35 million per mile."

This only the latest and most public of her panhandling.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/04/30/Sen-Diane-Feinstein-s-Husband-Bags-CA-High-Speed-Rail-Construction-Contract

[Autumn]

28. She's a disgrace.

[JDPriestly]

33. Dianne's husband has the contract to sell the post offices that are being closed.

Corruption in my humble opinion.


Follow the money. This is a bit complicated.

In 2011, the Postal Service identified about 3,700 post offices — some leased, some owned, some historic and some not — that it said may have to close in coming years to save money. When that plan met with opposition, the service announced it would instead try to lower expenses by reducing operating hours.

But even as postal officials agreed not to eliminate outlets in some towns and cities, they did leave open the option to sell valuable properties and relocate services. “Periodic sales of post offices will be ongoing,” Ms. Brennan said.

The agency acknowledges that in recent years the sale of post office buildings has accelerated, and in 2011 it hired CBRE, a commercial real estate services firm, to handle the transactions.

“Our biggest concern is the way they’re going about it isn’t transparent,” said Chris Morris, a senior field officer for the National Trust and project manager for post office buildings. “A lot of us are very confused about the process.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/arts/design/preservationists-fight-postal-service-over-sales.html?_r=3&

Note -- Coldwell Banker Real Estate.

Now. Snopes:

Facing a deficit of billions of dollars, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has floated a number of number of proposals to reduce that deficit, including selling off hundreds of post office properties in order to gain cash flow and reduce expenses. According to the Postal Service's 2012 report to Congress, more than 600 buildings nationwide have been "earmarked for disposal," and the "USPS Properties for Sale" web site currently lists 41 buildings for sale across the U.S. in addition to 11 land parcels.

In 2011, the CB Richard Ellis Group (now CBRE Group, Inc.), the world's largest commercial real estate
services firm, was awarded an exclusive contract to market USPS facilities, which CBRE touted by announcing: "Historically, USPS has worked with multiple real estate service providers. The new contract enables USPS to consolidate these activities with one service provider."

This award has been the subject of some controversy, as CBRE's Chairman of the Board is Richard C. Blum, the husband of Senator Dianne Feinstein, who represents the state of California in the U.S. Senate.

Although it is true that Blum is both CBRE's chairman and the spouse of a U.S. senator, it is not accurate to say that he is "solely in charge" of CBRE, nor that he "owns" the company. CBRE is headed by President and Chief Executive Officer Robert E. Sulentic, and CBRE is a public company whose shares are owned by many different individuals and institutional stockholders. (It is true, however, that Blum Capital, a private equity firm founded by Richard Blum, is one of CBRE's larger institutional stockholders.)

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/blum.asp

I'm not claiming it isn't legal. I'm just saying that it stinks.

[Ed Suspicious]

29. Hogwarts called, they want their "you shall not tell lies" lady back.

?w=600

Dolores Umbridge

[zeemike]

35. Perhaps they are doing their job.

Which might be to provide cover for NSA.
I am so over the idea that they work for us.

[geek tragedy]

8. Unsourced comment via a rightwing publicationk, accepted at face value at DU.

This place is not getting any smarter.

[nashville_brook]

11. unsourced b/c the leaker wishes to keep his/her job

from the National Review...illustrating, once again that transparency and privacy transcend partisanship. remember when Obama promised a transcendent politick? here it is.

[geek tragedy]

15. Do you know the leaker personally?

If not, how do you know the reason why they're not going on the record, or that they're telling the truth for that matter?

[Autumn]

12. Techdirt is right wing?

Damn we need a list.

[geek tragedy]

13. they're directly quoting the National Review, nt

[Autumn]

14. The BASTARDS!!!!!!

[geek tragedy]

16. Hey, if you like to get your news from the National Review, don't blame us

when you later learn that Obamacare isn't destroying America.

[nashville_brook]

17. everything isn't about Obama...or bashing Obama...or Obama's legacy

there's actually quite a bit that we'll be left to deal with after he's gone, and an unchecked intelligence community is apparently that some on the right have found religion on. I think that's a good thing.

hell, i remember when Obama himself campaigned on changing the tone in Washington -- in finding things people could agree on. this is something that any rational person with a 5th grade reading of history should be able to agree on. it has nothing to do with ACA, immigration or any other policy issue that matters. It's a stand-alone. if a coalition can be built to fix this, so be it.

[geek tragedy]

19. I support legislative fixes to the problems that exist.

But, never, ever, ever, ever trust publications like the NR. They always have an ulterior agenda.

[nashville_brook]

23. no one is saying trust republicans.

[Autumn]

18. I already know Obamacare isn't destroying America.

In fact, it's gonna help me. Please don't be sad techdirt didn't attribute the article to any publication. But it does seem to be an interesting article. On the serious side. Skinner needs to create a list of banned site

[geek tragedy]

20. I'm not saying "we should ignore it at all costs"

But, at the same time, there should ALWAYS be skepticism to stuff reported by the Rightwing Noise Machine.

Always.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/07/groundswell-rightwing-group-ginni-thomas

[nashville_brook]

24. the writer involved in the Groundswell cluster is not the same one here

and the important fact you're overlooking is that criticism of NSA is not within the NR frame. they're pro-NSA -- that's what makes this piece interesting. it swims against the current.

[geek tragedy]

27. they're pro NSA but above all anti-Democrat. nt

[kentuck]

26. Sounds like a "bi-partisan" problem to me.

After all, they all are in Congress and the NSA is not just withholding intel from one Party. This is a time for "bi-partisanship".

[sulphurdunn]

30. Why would anyone question

the veracity of such a statement? The national security state has been gaining power since the end of WWII. The only assumption of this unidentified NSA official I would question is that Feinstein and Rogers are out of the NSA loop. If they are it's because they choose to be.

[nashville_brook]

37. plausible deniabilty - bc it would be awkward to reel in

the defense contractors and intel agencies that have 'captured' them.

[jakeXT]

32. Unknown unknowns

[blackspade]

34. This just keeps getting worse.

And some are continuing to blather on about people's 'hair on fire' while they are standing on the fucking sun.

[msaroff]

38. Follow the Link Trail

It leads back to John Fund.

I'm not saying that it is false, it is something that I am inclined to believe, I am saying that if John Fund says that the sky is blue, find independent confirmation.

[wildbilln864]

39. k & r. n/t