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NSA and DOJ Mum on Investigation into al-Qaida Conference Call Leak

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller Neither the National Security Agency nor the Department of Justice will say whether the government plans to investigate intelligence leaks about al-Qaida’s so-called Legion of Doom conference call.

The NSA declined The Daily Caller’s request for comment about whether an internal investigation into the leaks had been initiated. The DOJ did not respond to the Daily Caller’s multiple requests for comment by the time of publication.

There is currently little indication, however, that the federal government is investigating the three anonymous U.S. intelligence officials who spoke to The Daily Beast, or the anonymous U.S. official who spoke to McClatchy, about the intercepted Internet al-Qaida conference call.

The U.S. government ordered the closing of 22 embassies across the Middle East and Africa due to national security threats made during an intercepted Internet conference call between over 20 al-Qaida representatives, including al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Read more from this story HERE.

Edward Snowden: the Whistleblower Behind the NSA Surveillance Revelations

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Photo Credit: guardian.co.uk

By Glenn Greenwald, Ewen MacAskill and Laura Poitras. The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell.

The Guardian, after several days of interviews, is revealing his identity at his request. From the moment he decided to disclose numerous top-secret documents to the public, he was determined not to opt for the protection of anonymity. “I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong,” he said.

Snowden will go down in history as one of America’s most consequential whistleblowers, alongside Daniel Ellsberg and Bradley Manning. He is responsible for handing over material from one of the world’s most secretive organisations – the NSA.

In a note accompanying the first set of documents he provided, he wrote: “I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions,” but “I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant.”

Despite his determination to be publicly unveiled, he repeatedly insisted that he wants to avoid the media spotlight. “I don’t want public attention because I don’t want the story to be about me. I want it to be about what the US government is doing.” Read more from this story HERE.
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NSA whistleblower donated to Ron Paul’s presidential campaign

By Katie McHugh. National Security Administration whistleblower Edward Snowden, who revealed his identity to The Guardian newspaper on Sunday, was a donor to former Texas Rep. Ron Paul’s presidential campaign.

OpenSecrets.org shows that Snowden twice donated $250 to Paul’s campaign, once on March 18, 2012 from a Maryland address, and a second time on May 6, 2012 from Hawaii. Paul ceased active campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination on May 14, 2012.

In an interview with The Guardian, Snowden said he voted for a third party for president on Election Day last November. Read more from this story HERE.
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Guardian: NSA contractor was source of massive US surveillance leak

By Fox News. The source of the bombshell leaks about the U.S. government gathering information on billions of phone calls and Internet activities was an American employed as a contract worker for the National Security Agency, The Guardian newspaper, which broke the story, said Sunday.

The British newspaper has identified the source as 29-year-old Edward Snowden, who worked for defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and was a former technical assistant for the CIA.

The Washington Post followed the Guardian announcement by saying Snowden was the source for its surveillance stories that followed.

If the reports are accurate, Snowden could face many years in prison for releasing classified information if he is successfully extradited from Hong Kong, where he claims to have taken refuge.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on Snowden’s disclosure, saying the issue has been referred to the Justice Department. Read more from this story HERE.

RINO Peter King Calls for NSA Whistle-Blower’s Extradition

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Photo Credit: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

The NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was condemned by US politicians and threatened with prosecution by the country’s intelligence chief on Sunday after revealing himself as the Guardian’s source for a series of explosive leaks on the NSA and cyber surveillance.

A spokesman for the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said Snowden’s case had been referred to the justice department and US intelligence was assessing the damage caused by the disclosures.

“Any person who has a security clearance knows that he or she has an obligation to protect classified information and abide by the law,” the spokesman, Shawn Turner, said.

Snowden had top-secret clearance to help run the National Security Agency’s computer systems but he was a contractor, hired by the giant US defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. The company issued a statement describing the disclosures as “shocking” and pledging to co-operate with any investigation.

It said: “News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm. We will work closely with our clients and authorities in their investigation of this matter.”

[Editor’s note: It was reported last week that “Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said he will not attend a big Republican fundraising dinner, because although his schedule might have prevented it anyway, once he heard Sen. Ted Cruz was the headliner, it ‘made it easy.'”]

Read more from this story HERE.

U.S. to Let Spy Agencies Scour Americans’ Private Financial Records

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Photo Credit: DonkeyHotey

The Obama administration is drawing up plans to give all U.S. spy agencies full access to a massive database that contains financial data on American citizens and others who bank in the country, according to a Treasury Department document seen by Reuters.

The proposed plan represents a major step by U.S. intelligence agencies to spot and track down terrorist networks and crime syndicates by bringing together financial databanks, criminal records and military intelligence. The plan, which legal experts say is permissible under U.S. law, is nonetheless likely to trigger intense criticism from privacy advocates.

Financial institutions that operate in the United States are required by law to file reports of “suspicious customer activity,” such as large money transfers or unusually structured bank accounts, to Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The Federal Bureau of Investigation already has full access to the database. However, intelligence agencies, such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, currently have to make case-by-case requests for information to FinCEN.

The Treasury plan would give spy agencies the ability to analyze more raw financial data than they have ever had before, helping them look for patterns that could reveal attack plots or criminal schemes.

The planning document, dated March 4, shows that the proposal is still in its early stages of development, and it is not known when implementation might begin.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama accuses GOP of trying to “Swift Boat” him over bin Laden killing, leaks (+video)

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By Mark Hosenball. Barack Obama’s re-election campaign on Wednesday accused Republicans of trying to “Swift Boat” the president, a reference to hardball smear tactics used to attack the war record of Democratic Senator John Kerry when he unsuccessfully challenged George W. Bush for the White House in 2004.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that a group of former U.S. intelligence and Special Forces operatives was preparing to launch a media campaign, including TV ads, that scolds Obama for taking credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden and accuses his administration of leaking U.S. secrets for political advantage.

The group, the Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund Inc, unveiled a documentary-style video featuring interviews with former spies and U.S. military commandos on Wednesday.

The Obama campaign hit back.

“The Republicans are resorting to ‘Swift Boat’ tactics because when it comes to foreign policy and national security, Mitt Romney has offered nothing but reckless rhetoric,” said campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt. Read more from this story HERE.

Here’s the alleged “Swift Boat”-type documentary that Obama is so concerned about: