An underreported story today comes amid the resignation of Stacia Hylton, the head of the U.S. Marshals Service.  The timing of the resignation could not be more transparently tied to a growing investigation into domestic surveillance programs operated without oversight, and potentially unconstitutional.

For the past several years stories have been quietly surfacing about the USMS using stealth cell phone captures via drone and fixed unit operations known as “Stingray Devices”.

Stingray technology secretly captures cell phone communication, data, voice and text from users without their knowledge.

In addition the USMS has recently been outlined using Automatic License Plate Reading (ALPR) technology to track movements of people driving. Both programs track every American and are not related specifically to investigative foundations.  (more…)

McConnell (majority leader), and Cornyn (majority whip), lost this one.

(Via The Hill) Mitch McConnell staged an epic gamble over U.S. spying powers — and lost.
The Republican leader pledged to keep senators in Washington through the weekend to finish work on expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, but Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) called his bluff.
Instead, when the smoke cleared in the early hours of Saturday morning, the 2016 presidential contender was the one with bragging rights.
The battle between the two Kentucky Republicans spilled over on the Senate floor, with Paul using procedural tactics to force the chamber into an early Saturday vote. He then used his leverage to kill off McConnell’s repeated attempts to reauthorize the expiring National Security Agency (NSA) programs — first for two months, then for eight days, then for five, then three, then two. (more…)

Bulk data collection too excessive to be legal.

NEW YORK – The National Security Agency’s bulk phone record collection program was dealt a blow Thursday as a federal appeals court said the controversial program exceeds what Congress has allowed and urged lawmakers to step in.
A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan permitted the National Security Agency program to continue temporarily as it exists, and all but pleaded for Congress to better define where the boundaries exist.
“In light of the asserted national security interests at stake, we deem it prudent to pause to allow an opportunity for debate in Congress that may (or may not) profoundly alter the legal landscape,” the opinion written by Circuit Judge Gerald Lynch said. (more…)

Stingray technology is a data tool for capturing cell phone communication and tracking cell phone users. Stingray Systems mimic cell tower signals and capture the content of targeted cell phone users.

The New York ACLU went to court to force Erie County Sheriffs’ to disclose details about the law enforcement use of Stingray Technology. What they uncovered is alarming. In 46 out of 47 examples law enforcement never sought a warrant to use Stingray intercepts, and in 46 out of 47 examples the same law enforcement used Stingray tools to track the movements of “suspects” – again without warrants or court oversight.

(NYCLU April 7, 2015) — The New York Civil Liberties Union released today records it received from the Erie County Sheriff’s Office on its use of ”stingrays,” devices that can track and record New Yorkers’ locations via their cell phones. The records showed that of the 47 times the Sheriff’s Office used stingrays in the past four years, it apparently only once obtained a court order, contradicting the sheriff’s own remarks.

“These records confirm some of the very worst fears about local law enforcement’s use of this expensive and intrusive surveillance equipment,” said NYCLU Staff Attorney Mariko Hirose. “Not only did the Sheriff’s Office promise the FBI breathtaking secrecy to keep information about stingrays as hidden as possible, it implemented almost no privacy protections for the Erie County residents it is sworn to protect and serve.” (more…)

DOVER, Del. (AP) — The NASCAR driver known as ”The Outlaw” testified Tuesday he believes his ex-girlfriend is a trained assassin dispatched on covert missions around the world who once returned to him in a blood-splattered gown.
“Everybody on the outside can tell me I’m crazy, but I lived on the inside and saw it firsthand,” Kurt Busch said when his attorney, Rusty Hardin, questioned why he still believed Patricia Driscoll is a hired killer.
Busch, appearing in court again over Driscoll’s request for a no-contact order, continued the push of his legal team to discredit his ex as a scorned woman out to destroy his career, portraying her as a character fit for a screenplay. (more…)

This has been an interesting story since it first surfaced in May of 2013.  Sharyl has been tight lipped since she announced knowing who had bugged her back in June of 2013.  
The exfiltration and bugging was extensive and highly professional.  Her Skype program was used as a bugging tool for government agencies (NSA, CIA, FBI) to listen in to her conversations, and electronic classified documents were planted in her computer system in case blackmail leverage was needed… This was done while Sharyl was investigating Fast-n-Furious and Benghazi.
(New York Post) A former CBS News reporter who quit the network over claims it kills stories that put President Obama in a bad light says she was spied on by a “government-related entity” that planted classified documents on her computer.
In her new memoir, Sharyl Attkisson says a source who arranged to have her laptop checked for spyware in 2013 was “shocked” and “flabbergasted” at what the analysis revealed.
“This is outrageous. Worse than anything Nixon ever did. I wouldn’t have believed something like this could happen in the United States of America,” Attkisson quotes the source saying.
She speculates that the motive was to lay the groundwork for possible charges against her or her sources. (more…)

A Nation is a family. And those that swear an oath to defend that nation form a tighter family — one that depends on the loyalty of each member to protect their very lives. In his latest FIREWALL, Bill Whittle discusses the cultural disconnect not only of Bowe Bergdahl, but of the people who traded five deadly terrorists for his return.

Street thugs or US government operatives.  It’s getting harder to tell the difference.

Now, apparently, the Intelligence Committee spills the beans in the Congressional Record that there really is no difference in their operating procedures or outlook.

Random, indiscriminate killing of unverified targets now A-OK.  Street thugs spraying random shots in a drive-by, or the US government killing random civilians in an untargeted unverified drone strike.  Same-same!  Doesn’t that make ya feel all squishy-yummy inside?

(more…)

Her tail of woe began with an innocent comment on Facebook …….

Christine Adamski said she was surprised last week when she received a citation in the mail for a comment she made on Facebook, but she also knew immediately she wasn’t going to pay it.

Adamski, 25, opened the $50 ticket from the Will County Forest Preserve District last week and read the letter alleging she had used a dog park without a proper permit.

The citation arrived at her Bolingbrook home with a letter explaining the ticket, an application for a dog park permit as well as a copy of her social media post “admitting her guilt.”

(more…)

As you read this, and absorb the implications, ask yourself: “what do you think the White House is doing with the communication flow of the GOP, Congress, and Congressional opposition”? The IRS and DOJ James Rosen scandal alone provide all the substance needed to let you know the White House is gaining all of the communications from any party or entity they want. So what do you think the administration is doing with that information ?

(Via Ladar Levison) My legal saga started last summer with a knock at the door, behind which stood two federal agents ready to to serve me with a court order requiring the installation of surveillance equipment on my company’s network.

My company, Lavabit, provided email services to 410,000 people – including Edward Snowden, according to news reports – and thrived by offering features specifically designed to protect the privacy and security of its customers.

I had no choice but to consent to the installation of their device, which would hand the US government access to all of the messages – to and from all of my customers – as they travelled between their email accounts other providers on the Internet.

But that wasn’t enough. The federal agents then claimed that their court order required me to surrender my company’s private encryption keys, and I balked. What they said they needed were customer passwords – which were sent securely – so that they could access the plain-text versions of messages from customers using my company’s encrypted storage feature. (The government would later claim they only made this demand because of my “noncompliance”.) (more…)