Epstein Secrets

ated into reports (which had a distinctive blue stripe to signify their impor- tance) that had been provided to Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. Even more shocking, in tracing the path of this disinformation, the inspector general found that the “senior CIA @ officers responsible for these r

9780451494566_2p_all_r.indd 215 @ 9/30/16 8:13AM | | HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019703 216 | HOW AMERICA LOST ITS SECRETS tions to private companies, but the Clinton administration in 1996 had privatized background checks for government employees requiring security clearances. The idea, backed by Vice President Al

ing the NSA. In 2010, the NSA division that handled such security and espio- nage threats reportedly initiated a counterespionage probe at the NSA’s Fort Meade headquarters. According to a former NSA official, “They [were] looking for one or more Russian spies that NSA [was] convinced resided at Fort Meade a

adversaries took full advantage of the setback. Sev- eral hundred U.S. and British intelligence officers worked around the clock in Washington, D.C., Fort Meade, Maryland, and Cheltenham, England, for months on end to determine which parts of the most powerful communications intelligence system in the world c

ch had a distinctive blue stripe to signify their importance, had been provided to the three American Presidents, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Even more shocking, in tracing the path of this disinformation, the Inspector General found that the "senior CIA officers responsible for these repo

spent almost six months negotiating with Hillary Clinton’s State Department a one-on-one summit between Pr

the NSA. In 2010, the NSA’s “Q” division handled such security and espionage threats. It reportedly initiated a counter-espionage probe at the NSA’s Fort Meade headquarters on receiving the tip. But since the NSA’s cryptological service had in 2010 no fewer than 35,000 military and civilian contractor employ

le its adversaries took full advantage of the setback. Several hundred US and British intelligence officers worked around the clock in Washington DC, Fort Meade, Maryland and Cheltenham, England for months on end to determine if which parts could be still salvaged from what had been until the Snowden breach t

e he, like any other person accused of a felony, would face the charges against him. Nor was it plausible that President Obama and Secretary Of State Clinton would conspire to trap a perpetrator carrying incredibly valuable national security secrets in Russia. The counterintelligence investigation had lit

run the CIA!” (He was referring to Leon Panetta, President Clinton’s former chief of staff.) Snowden attributed the

the sensitive job of investigating the breach to Richard “Rick” Ledgett, the Director of the NSA’s Threat Operations Center at NSA’s headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland. It was a key position since the top- secret unit was responsible for discovering and countering the threats posed by Chinese, Russian and

spent almost six months negotiating with Hillary Clinton’s State Department a one-on-one summit between Pr

ing the breach to a team headed by Richard “Rick” Ledgett, who was then director of the NSA’s Threat Opera- tions Center at the NSA’s headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland. Ledgett was the logical choice to head the damage assessment inves- tigation because the center’s regional branch in Hawaii was under his