Intelligence Oversight? Dianne Feinstein Employed A Chinese Spy For Several Years
from the all-about-that-transparency,-eh dept
Former intelligence officials told me that Chinese intelligence once recruited a staff member at a California office of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, and the source reported back to China about local politics. (A spokesperson for Feinstein said the office doesn’t comment on personnel matters or investigations, but noted that no Feinstein staffer in California has ever had a security clearance.)
This detail, located in the middle of Zach Dorfman's report on foreign spying in the Silicon Valley, doesn't tell the whole story. The grand dame of intelligence oversight, the queen of surveillance, somehow managed to let a foreign spy tag along with her for several years -- one employed by her for nearly two decades. Phil Matier and Andy Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle managed to get more details about this spying from a local source.
A local source who knew about the incident confirmed to us that the FBI showed up at Feinstein’s office in Washington, D.C., about five years ago to alert the then-chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee that her driver was being investigated for possible Chinese spying.
“Dianne was mortified,” said our source, who spoke to us only on condition he not be named.
The unnamed staffer was Feinstein's driver and gofer when she was in the Bay Area and served as a liaison with the Chinese-American community. Apparently, he was recruited by someone in China during a visit to Asia.
That someone was connected with the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of State Security.
The FBI interviewed the spy and determined he hadn't passed on anything of value. I guess that's a relief, but it also may indicate just palling around with Feinstein doesn't result in much actionable intelligence. Of course, it may be the spy didn't even know he was a spy. The SF Chronicle source says the suspected spy just considered his State Security a friend who liked to chat about US politics.
What should be concerning is how quietly this was handled. When intelligence oversight members can't keep from being spied on by staffers, there's a problem. It may be impossible to prevent every attempt, but having a long-time employee turn out to be a foreign intelligence source is more than embarrassing, it's potentially dangerous. This was simply swept under the rug by Feinstein and never discussed publicly.
Trust isn't a one-way street. Our surveillance oversight should be accountable to the public just as surely as the intelligence community should be accountable to its oversight. This should have been acknowledged and discussed publicly, not left to anonymous sources and/or FOIA warriors with the tenacity and funding to force the government to hand over documents dealing with its hidden screw-ups.
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Filed Under: china, dianne feinstein, intelligence, oversight
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How about you get your own shit in order before demanding anything from anyone else.
Perhaps then you will learn that all of your ideas from movies don't work in the real world, and its stupid to keep demanding it.
Persistent ongoing threat... don't tell me there was only 1, you just haven't bothered to look for the others because you spend to much effort chasing boogeymen who have to wear black hats rather than do your job of securing yourselves.
Y'all suck.
No Love...
TAC
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The only problem I have with your POV on this story...
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Re: The only problem I have with your POV on this story...
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Re: Re: The only problem I have with your POV on this story...
It appears the driver was in the process of being recruited and was warned by the FBI.
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I am sure the GOP will take this with maturity & w/o hypocrisy
What should happen? They should treat this as a serious breach. They should investigate in a non-partisan method with independent investigators. Then take appropriate actions. But this should not be some Benghazi situation where the GOP makes mountains out of a single grain of sand. Treat is seriously, but don't go overboard.
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This man, at the very least, helped them rule out the possibility that Feinstein/Congress had found out about something they wanted to keep secret. When shit was going down, he could tell them "no, no one's panicking".
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Whew! I'm so glad this spy was totally honest and made sure they knew he never, not even once, passed anything of value to the Chinese government! Heck, he didn't even know he was a spy!
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The most likely explanation
The Chinese use this tactic all day, every day -- they've mastered it. Among its other features, it makes spies much harder to catch, because they behave completely normally and show no signs of guilt: of course not, they have no reason to think they're guilty of anything. They also use layers of indirection: the handlers have handlers have handlers.
The downside of this is that they've can't task these agents with specific items; the upside is that they can quietly use them for years or decades without being noticed.
And if you think this is the only one with access (of some degree) to Congress members, then you're dreaming.
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If only..
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So... Diane could be considered a "Chinese pawn"...
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The infowars thing is a non starter - why do you think it is?
Did Obummer censor poor poor infowars? LOL. Did a private corporation violate the 1st amendment rights of Alex? LMAO. Does not float dude as your dingy has a huge hole it it.
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Re: Re: So... Diane could be considered a "Chinese pawn"...
With huge swaths of the internet being controlled by just a few companies, they have the ability to effectively silence anyone they dislike.
Imagine you are told you have the right to travel freely across the United States, but you can't use the freeway, airlines or rails and you can't travel faster than 35 mph. Can you enjoy that right just as everyone else does?
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Re: So... Diane could be considered a "Chinese pawn"...
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Re: tl;dr
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Intelligence?
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Re: Intelligence?
"...palling around with Feinstein doesn't result in much actionable intelligence"
- but it quickly changed to dread knowing these people are running the county .
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Re: Intelligence?
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Unless it's Russia or a country bordering Russia...
Russia! Russia! Russia!
There is no such thing as a 'Chinese Spy'
Zero Proof.
Tibet, Taiwan, and the South China Sea are ALL part of China!
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