Охрана секретов

[tijd]

Скандал с отставкой Роба Портера высветил тот факт, что в администрации Трампа многие люди работают с документами повышенной секретности, не имея на то постоянного доступа.

Thirty to 40 White House officials and administration political appointees are still operating without full security clearances, including senior adviser to President Donald Trump Jared Kushner and -- until recently -- White House staffer Rob Porter, according to a US official and a source familiar with the situation.
The White House claims that the backlog of interim security clearances is a procedural consequence of the review process carried out by the FBI and White House Office of Security, which can take time to complete.
But several sources, including intelligence officials who have served previous Democratic and GOP administrations, describe the backlog as very unusual and make clear that the process should have been completed after a year in office.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/02/09/politics/trump-officials-pending-security-clearances/index.html



Должность Staff Secretary, которую занимал Портер, была специально создана, чтобы упорядочить работу со сверхсекретными документами, которые ложатся на стол президенту. Первым эту должность занимал при Эйзенхауэре генерал Гудпейстер, впоследствии - один из столпов антисоветского крыла консерваторов и автор быстро устаревшего доклада Policy Toward the Soviet Union. A Long-Term Western Perspective, 1987-2000.

Небрежное отношение к государственным секретам (высеченное и историей с Портером, и историей с докладом Нунеса) напомнило также историю о том, как Трамп, принимая Лаврова и Кисляка в Овальном кабинете, выдал им сверхсекретную информацию, полученную израильской разведкой. Дополнительные подробности стали известны в ноябре из репортажа Vanity Fair.

“I get great intel,” the president suddenly boasted, as prideful as if he were bragging about the amenities at one of his company’s hotels. “I have people brief me on great intel every day.”
He quickly went on to share with representatives of a foreign adversary not only the broad outlines of the plot to turn laptop computers into airborne bombs but also at least one highly classified operational detail-the sort of sensitive, locked-in-the-vault intel that was not shared with even Congress or friendly governments. The president did not name the U.S. partner who had spearheaded the operation. (Journalists, immediately all over the astonishing story, would soon out Israel). But, more problematic, President Trump cavalierly identified the specific city in ISIS-held territory where the threat had been detected.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/11/trump-intel-slip



Автор репортажа, Говард Блум, давно интересуется миром шпионажа и контрразведки. В этом месяце у него выходит новая книга, In the Enemy's House: The Secret Saga of the FBI Agent and the Code Breaker Who Caught the Russian Spies, посвящённая проекту Venona и охоте за шпионами, передавшими атомные секреты Советскому Союзу.

Одна из предыдущих книжек Блума, Gangland: How the FBI Broke the Mob, посвящена истории разгрома итальянской мафии в Нью-Йорке. ФБР пошло на сделку с Салваторе Гравано по прозвищу “Sammy the Bull”, правой рукой Джона Готти - крестного отца семейство Гамбино, несмотря на то, что Гравано был виновен в убийстве по меньшей мере 19 человек. Гравано дал ценные показания на Готти, которого до этого называли “Teflon Don” из-за того, что к нему не прилипали никакие обвинения.

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As a Government witness, Mr. Gravano could be used in an attempt to corroborate charges that the men were discussing and plotting illegal acts, including four murders, loansharking, gambling enterprises and attempts to bribe officials. Mr. Gravano may also be used as witness to support the prosecution's contention that Mr. Gotti engineered the 1985 assassination of Paul Castellano, who was then the reputed boss of the family, to clear the way for Mr. Gotti's ascension to power.
Organized-crime experts said Mr. Gravano was believed to be the first underboss to switch sides while still in power. Laura Brevetti, former head of the Justice Department's Organized Crime Strike Force in Brooklyn, said, "Gravano was one of the closest individuals to John Gotti for years, even as close as his brothers."
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/12/nyregion/us-says-top-gotti-aide-will-testify-against-boss.html

"The don is covered with Velcro, and every charge stuck," said James M. Fox, assistant director in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York office.
"This was really a crossroads, the most important crossroads," he said, predicting that the conviction would deal a major blow to the mob. "I'm not saying it's going to happen in a year, but the mob as we know it in New York City and this country is on its way out."
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/03/nyregion/gotti-guilty-of-murder-and-racketeering.html

Ныне, наблюдая за расследованием Мюллера, Блум распознаёт похожую тактику. Остаётся гадать, сыграет ли Майкл Флинн роль Сэмми Гравано и превратят ли его показания нынешнего «тефлоннового дона» в “Don covered with Velcro”.



Neither his own attorney nor the wise guys with whom he shared the tenth floor of the M.C.C. had any idea of the momentous meeting that was about to begin. Once everyone was seated-between the government attorneys and the F.B.I. agents there was, Mouw would say, about a half dozen anxious people in the room-Sammy began without prelude. “I want to switch sides,” he announced flatly. <...>
In return for getting off with what amounts to little more than a slap on his bony wrist-the maximum sentence the former general now faces is five years-Flynn will soon have to keep his side of the bargain. Can there be any doubt that the general who had chanted “Lock her up!” at the Republican National Convention has, like Gravano, agreed “to change sides?” Or is there any doubt that Mueller has brought Flynn into his fold because he has his eye fixed, once again, on bigger prey?
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/12/how-scared-should-trump-be-of-mueller-ask-john-gotti-or-sammy-the-bull