Published on Aug 29, 2018
Following revelations that former C.I.A. officer running for office, Abigail Spanberger's confidential personnel file was given to a Republican Super PAC, other Democratic candidates who served in U.S. intelligence are concerned that this is a new Republican tactic. Rachel Maddow reports the latest.
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C.I.A. Officer-Turned-Candidate Says PAC Obtained Her Security Application
WASHINGTON — A former C.I.A. officer running for Congress accused a super PAC aligned with Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Tuesday of improperly obtaining her entire federal security clearance application — a highly sensitive document containing extensive personal information — and then using it for political purposes.
Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic candidate challenging Representative Dave Brat of Virginia, sent a cease-and-desist letter to Corry Bliss, the executive director of the Congressional Leadership Fund, which has raised more than $100 million to help Republicans in the midterm elections. She demanded that the super PAC destroy all copies of the form and agree to not use the information in any fashion.
“I write as a former civil servant and as an American, in shock and anger, that you have tried to exploit my service to our country by exposing my most personal information in the name of politics,” she wrote.
The super PAC released a statement on Tuesday strongly denying Ms. Spanberger’s charge, saying that the document was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request filed with the United States Postal Service by America Rising, a separate Republican-aligned research firm. …
Graham Wilson, a lawyer for Ms. Spanberger’s campaign, said that explanation, which laid the mistake on the Postal Service, did not ring true. “In this unredacted form, this is not a document that the government can provide under the Privacy Act,” he said.
Ms. Spanberger, 39, said in the letter that she had “clear evidence” that the Congressional Leadership Fund had provided a copy of her security clearance application to “at least one news outlet,” adding, “I am not aware of any legal way that C.L.F. could have this document.” ...
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A security form became a political weapon. We should all be alarmed.
ANYONE WHO has ever filled out the U.S. government’s Standard Form 86, “Questionnaire for National Security Positions,” can attest that it is intrusive, requiring answers to 136 pages of probing questions about finances, medical history and family. People submit to this because they want to serve the country, often in positions handling classified information.
The use of an SF86 to score points during a congressional campaign is outrageous and worrisome. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic candidate challenging Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), filled out the SF86 while applying for positions at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service, and at the CIA. She worked for a time at the postal agency while waiting for her CIA clearance. Then she served as a covert CIA case officer overseas for eight years.
Ms. Spanberger says in an Aug. 28 letter that the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), obtained and circulated a copy of her SF86 “for political purposes.” The CLF has been trying to call attention to the fact that she worked at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Northern Virginia, saying it “produced a number of well-known terrorists.” …
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CIA Analyst Turned Candidate Fears She’ll Get Doxxed Next
At least 34 intelligence and military veterans are running for House or Senate seats in 2018. And now, there’s a very real risk that their private lives could be exposed.
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Letter: Trump subverts democracy by using security clearances as a political weapon
By Dolores Chase | The Public Forum Published: August 18, 2018
President Donald Trump has found a way to get rid of the rule of law without firing anyone. He has simply initiated a policy of retracting the security clearances of key top officials like former CIA Director John Brennan. He now can go down the list of those crucial officials who oppose his egregious acts.
In short order, this could wipe out the whole judicial and safeguard mechanisms that protect democracy, potentially even Robert Mueller’s investigation. This is happening without a murmur from the Republican leaders and most of the Republican enablers in both chambers. The annals of history will list them as traitors to democracy on an epic scale.
If you're concerned, vote and rally others in this important election. ...
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