GAP, POGO, Experience Break-Ins
Jeff Stein has a troubling scoop that both the Government Accountability Project and POGO have been burgled — POGO in recent weeks and GAP several years ago.
The POGO break-in seems of lesser concern, because they don’t appear to have taken anything — though Stein notes that POGO was involved in releasing the DOD IG Report that revealed CIA’s close ties to Zero Dark Thirty (and, because some dirty fucking hippie pointed it out, that William McRaven ordered Osama bin Laden photos “destroyed immediately” when Judicial Watch FOIAed them).
POGO is also relentless in its documentation of the waste of the F-35 program.
The GAP break-in occurred back in January 2011.
In the Jan. 6, 2011 incident, the burglars seemed interested in just a few of the computers among the dozen or so in the office. Of the six stolen, two belonged to GAP’s national security attorneys, and one to its legal director, according to GAP President Louis Clark. No culprits have been arrested.
Jesselyn Radack, the director of GAP’s National Security and Human Rights Program, is a legal adviser to Snowden.
This was the period when the WikiLeaks investigation was heating up, as was the Jeffrey Sterling prosecution. Several months later, Thomas Drake would get his plea deal.
In addition, in recent months, someone has been trying to deal GAP classified documents.
In the months since the group’s association with the fugitive leaker began, Clark said, “We have had a highly suspicious person twice try to give us so-called ‘classified’ documents.” Because the group is not a news organization, accepting classified documents could leave it open to prosecution.
It’s not surprising that weird stuff is happening to Raddack’s organization as she assist Snowden. But this does seem like a setup.
Troubling.
Update: Via Twitter Radack made it clear the break in to GAP was during the Thomas Drake case.
It sounds like someone wanted to know what was being planned. Or in what they knew.
(I’d assume the phones were tapped, too – but that’s obvious.)
It sounds like someone is trying to roll up Snowden’s base of support and silence any prominent critics as the same time. It is interesting though that they would openly steal only a few obvious machines rather than try to hide what they were after or just take them all. Perhaps whoever did it wants us all to know.
As for the peddling of “classified documents” that sounds very much like one of the FBI’s sting operations. I guess Holder isn’t satisfied with the prosecutions the already has.
@P J Evans:
It is sad that we as a nation have hit the point where that is obvious.
Seems familiar:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/08/schulman-mathias-break-in_n_3561687.html
A Texas law firm representing the State Department whistleblower behind recent federal complaints fell victim to a daring break-in last week, in which the suspects reportedly made off with computers but left behind other valuables.
A report by Fox affiliate KDFW shows security camera footage of two individuals entering a large office building in Dallas. Once inside, the duo reportedly made a bee-line for the offices of Schulman & Mathias. The firm represents Aurelia Fedenisn, the former investigator at the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General who last month released documents accusing top officials at the department of covering up allegations that their colleagues had engaged in sexual assault, drug use and solicitation of underage prostitutes.
While numerous other office suites were accessible at the time, the burglars appeared to be interested only in the Schulman & Mathias law offices. They entered through a vacant suite by punching a large hole in a conjoining wall. Once inside, they broke into filing cabinets and eventually made off with three laptop computers, leaving behind other expensive electronic devices and valuables.
@LieparDestin:
If there had been personal computers in 1972, I think the Watergate burglars would have taken them. (The current crop of government-sponsored burglars seems to be much better trained.)