Senate panel's GOP staff spied on Democrats

[kpete]

Senate panel's GOP staff spied on Democrats
by repost Friday, Jan. 20, 2006 at 12:47 PM


Infiltration of files seen as extensive

By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff, 1/22/2004

WASHINGTON -- Republican staff members of the US Senate Judiciary Commitee infiltrated opposition computer files for a year, monitoring secret strategy memos and periodically passing on copies to the media, Senate officials told The Globe.

From the spring of 2002 until at least April 2003, members of the GOP committee staff exploited a computer glitch that allowed them to access restricted Democratic communications without a password. Trolling through hundreds of memos, they were able to read talking points and accounts of private meetings discussing which judicial nominees Democrats would fight -- and with what tactics.

The office of Senate Sergeant-at-Arms William Pickle has already launched an investigation into how excerpts from 15 Democratic memos showed up in the pages of the conservative-leaning newspapers and were posted to a website last November.

With the help of forensic computer experts from General Dynamics and the US Secret Service, his office has interviewed about 120 people to date and seized more than half a dozen computers -- including four Judiciary servers, one server from the office of Senate majority leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, and several desktop hard drives.


http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2006/01/1724120.php

[Coexist]

1. I think they were "spied" on - but thanks for the article

nt/

[Cats Against Frist]

2. Uh, isn't this a crime? Shouldn't this be bigger news?

[elehhhhna]

15. CyberWatergate, plain and simple.

[mom cat]

17. Look who owns the MSM..We have to make it news..on the internets.

[ComerPerro]

24. If they were able to access the files without a password, it might not be

a crime.

But its unethical as hell, that's for sure...

[Skidmore]

3. They better charge these liars and cheats with something.

How many times to these people need to get by with breaking laws and rules?

[peacetalksforall]

4. Always consistent. Always play it as dirty as can be conceived. And -

terminology is everything... they call this infiltration. I would call it spying. I would call it unethical. I would call it typical Republican. The Republican Party is at war against the people of the United States. They are filthy criminals.

[mwb970]

16. It's down to Republicans vs. Americans, isn't it?

Who do you think will win in the (a) short run; (b) long run?

[peacetalksforall]

20. Short run? Republicans - because they are on a role, a panic role, to

accelerate enactment of items on their agenda before they are kicked out. There is a thread this morning about some December middle of the night deal that gives medical lobbyists a 22 billion savings over the next ten years - done all by Republicans. A unitary congressional act.

They thought they had at least eight years before they owned the country by proclomation, by crooked laws, by grandfathering vigilantism, and tying hands, jailing, torturing, and probably knocking off certain foes - all Americans. And by changing the Constitution as easily as pulling a rug out from under where you and I are standing.

Long run? Americans. They will wake up, stay awake, wake others in the nick of time.

I can have a dream also.

[mod mom]

5. Sent to KO and asked him to cover this. nt

[Mutley]

6. K&R

[onenote]

7. this is very old news

The article itself is from 2004.

onenote

[kpete]

8. Seemed relevant to me

[mod mom]

10. Sometimes news gets lost in the shuffle. Still very relevant and it

obviously never got fully investigated.

[onenote]

14. actually there was a four month investigation and a public report issued

This entire incident was pretty heavily covered. Contacting Olberman (as one poster suggested) would just make folks look silly. I'm sure he knows all about it.

The report is publicly available:
http://judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?id=1085&wit_id=2514

http://judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?id=1085&wit_id=3088

onenote

[mod mom]

22. I was unaware that this incident was heavily covered. After reading

the testimony, it appears that recommendations were made, and the individual was allowed to resign. It suggests that further legal action might be pertinent depending on the jurisdiction of the individual, which was unknown.

I don't understand your comment "makes folks look silly". There is so many fronts to their unethical/criminal behavior that I don't see how bringing up old material, at a time when the ethics of the GOP is being confronted, is "silly". I think that although this information is old, it is VERY relevant to the culture of corruption which is being brought to light to the American People.

Was any legal action brought against this individual?

[onenote]

23. no legal action

My point was that sending Olberman and others emails suggesting they report a story that they already covered two years ago is a bit silly. Now, if folks want to send emails to Olberman reminding them that unethical behavior by the repubs has been going on for years, citing memogate as an example, I have no problem with that.

And as far as I know, no legal action was ever brought.

onenote

[yodermon]

9. more likely

there are outright traitors in the dem party funneling secrets to the repukes. :mad:

[Jane Austin]

18. Why are "Democratic Traitors" more likely than Repub dirty-tricksters?

In my world, that's backwards.

In fact, the investigation, which really was widely reported in the MSM, did nail it down and one Republican staffer was fired.

The rest of the story is that that miscreant was hired by either another government agency or by some right-wing operation.

Does anybody remember that part of the story?

[onenote]

21. he started up a "anti-filibuster" group

called the "Third Branch Conference". He occasionally writes columns for the WSJ. Not sure what he's doing these days, but I'm sure the RW is taking care of him.

onenote

[lpbk2713]

11. The White House plumbers are back!

I knew they would come back.

[Carni]

12. Same type of computer glitches diebold machines are subject to?

They have got to be kidding, right?

These guys make Nixon look like Mother Theresa

[hatrack]

13. K&R

nt

[crikkett]

19. Note this article is 2 years old. n/t