"Infiltration of files seen as extensive"

[bowens43]

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/01/22/infiltration_of_files_seen_as_extensive?mode=PF

Infiltration of files seen as extensive
Senate panel's GOP staff pried on Democrats
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.

<snip>


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.

more......

[Cooley Hurd]

1. Wow! A modern-day Watergate scenario...

...just replace "plumber" with "hacker." I hope there's a Frist-fry over this!

[maddezmom]

2. interesting, again Novak cited in this

<<Democrats now claim their private memos formed the basis for a February 2003 column by conservative pundit Robert Novak that revealed plans pushed by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, to filibuster certain judicial nominees. Novak is also at the center of an investigation into who leaked the identity of a CIA agent whose husband contradicted a Bush administration claim about Iraqi nuclear programs.

Citing "internal Senate sources," Novak's column described closed-door Democratic meetings about how to handle nominees.>>

[icymist]

20. Since Bush appointed Pickering to the Court while Congress

was in recess, I find the line "to filibuster certain judicial nominees" show that this leak was capitalized upon by the Oval Office. Do you think that Bush or Cheney knew about this leak for over a year and used the information gained by dishonest means to shape agenda and policy?

[RainDog]

30. another interesting Nofaktoid

he was also used by Soviet Mole Robert Hanssen. Hanssen was a source for Novak stories before the spy was outed, and Novak admitted the same after the spy was caught.

In other words, Novak appears to be the favorite stooge of dirty tricksters of all types.

[LiberalFighter]

84. They should confiscate his computer and phone records

[displacedtexan]

3. High Tech Watergate

Repukes can't do diddly unless they cheat!

[are_we_united_yet]

23. Ahhh but you

are so right. At least it seems that way.

[PaDUer]

49. And lie and change

the lies when caught..time to take them ALL down and JAIL!

[whatelseisnew]

4. Globe whores downplay the CRIME, calling it Infitration

[htuttle]

21. No kidding

If *I* 'infiltrated' the Senate computer system, I have a feeling that I'd probably know a few Treasury agents better than I do now, and would be sitting in a cell in Leavenworth...

Did they happen to get any credit card numbers while they were in there? How about warez? :eyes:

[RC]

5. Can you imangine the noise the gop would make

if the dems would stoop do low? Prison time anyone?

[Stephanie]

6. More Republican Belligerance - Blame the Victim!

" Hatch also said that a "former member of the Judiciary staff may have been involved." Many news reports have subsequently identified that person as Manuel Miranda, who formerly worked in the Judiciary Committee office and now is the chief judicial nominee adviser in the Senate majority leader's office. His computer hard drive name was stamped on an e-mail from the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League that was posted along with the Democratic Senate staff communications.

Reached at home, Miranda said he is on paternity leave; Frist's office said he is on leave "pending the results of the investigation" -- he denied that any of the handwritten comments on the memos were by his hand and said he did not distribute the memos to the media. He also argued that the only wrongdoing was on the part of the Democrats -- both for the content of their memos, and for their negligence in placing them where they could be seen.

"There appears to have been no hacking, no stealing, and no violation of any Senate rule," Miranda said. "Stealing assumes a property right and there is no property right to a government document. . . . These documents are not covered under the Senate disclosure rule because they are not official business and, to the extent they were disclosed, they were disclosed inadvertently by negligent staff."

[whatelseisnew]

7. I think the Patriot Act could be used to send them all to Gitmo

or some brig

[snippy]

22. But the crimes were committed by republicans and thus approved by God.

Since the crimes have been approved by the republican God, they are not prosecutable.

[zanana]

29. I think THEY would use the Patriot Act..

to get out of trouble. I'm sure there's a loophole in there somewhere. (And we all know how much they love loopholes).

[DBoon]

26. the rape victim was asking for it

same mentality, right?

[PaDUer]

50. Don't these pukes

know how to twist the words! Unless something is done, yesterday!, they continue their scams and thefts.

[SoCalDem]

55. How dare they leave something where it can be seen...

by a bunch of traitorous lying scumbags..

It's the same argument that a child might use... "But But But.. the $20.00 bill was just laying there on the counter, and I could not resist..Honest Dad "..

Stuff like this is the MOST important reason that we MUST take back at least one branch of govt.. When we are out of control, all the bad stuff that the other party does, gets shoved under the rug..

The republicans of old, like the ones during Watergate, are long gone.. What we have now in the republican party, are secretive,manipulative zealots who would help their "colleagues" bury the bodies, and then give them an alibi.. There are damned few who would "do the right thing"..

[Judi Lynn]

8. Wish someone would do the honorable thing and cut Novak loose

He may see this period as the high point of his "journalistic" career, such as it is.

All of these people are acting like hyenas. It would be funny watching them, if they weren't screwing things up.

They won't act like civilized men. They relish their raid on our institutions. Doesn't look as if there are any righteous Republians around to set them straight, either.

[colonel odis]

9. you can't' e-mail frist

as a constituent, i wanted to e-mail frist and ask for an explanation of why a server was taken from his office as part of this investigation.

his senate site only has ways to contact him via phone, fax, and snail mail.

what century do these assholes live in? did he do all that heroic heart surgery with leeches?

[Cooley Hurd]

10. the same century in which it was acceptable to...

...murder kittens just to dissect them. Like something out of a 19th century Mark Twain novel...

[colonel odis]

19. speaking of frist .....

he prepped at a school in nashville that at the time was one of the biggest bastions of bigotry you could imagine. (i know. i went there for a few years.)

lily white. totally wasp. jewish kids were not given yom kippur off. they were begrudgingly allowed to wear yarmulkes. quite a place. trent lott would have loved it, too.

[RainDog]

28. and Belle Meade used to prohibit Jewish people

from living in his (Frist's neighborhood) or joining their country club.

Do they have bus service into the neighborhood now, or do the women still have to drive their black housekeepers home?

Montgomery Bell Academy is simply the "finishing school" for wasp boys to insure their sense of entitlement.

..and yes, obviously I lived in Nashville, too, but I was from the "wrong side of the river."

[colonel odis]

64. i'm from the wrong side of river, too.

which made montgomery bell all the more difficult. if the racism doesn't get you, the racists will.

yes, they do have bus service in the meade now. about 4:45, you can drive through and all these older ladies in maid uniforms are standing by the mta signs or sitting on the nice benches hamilton fartingham IV donated. no covered shelters, though.

[KamaAina]

79. "Due to upgrades to our correspondence system..."

occuring (sic) between January 5 and January 25, Senator Frist's email contact form will be temporarily disabled. We apologize for the inconvenience, however, the new system will allow us to communicate with with you faster and better. If you need to contact us, you may do so via phone, fax or mail.

http://frist.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutSenatorFrist.ContactForm

"Upgrades to our correspondence system"? Is that anything like "our server being confiscated in an investigation", by any chance?

Meow!

[LiberalFighter]

85. Yes... it must be!!!

[Rose Siding]

11. A mistake is traced to a single technician...

hmmm...

snip>
A technician hired by the new judiciary chairman, Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, apparently made a mistake that allowed anyone to access newly created accounts on a Judiciary Committee server shared by both parties -- even though the accounts were supposed to restrict access only to those with the right password.

[PaDUer]

53. Hmm...did someone

reach this tech to apply for the job?..anther infiltration crime..These scums are ruthless..no wonder why they're UP all nite..that's when they get crazier and more brazen!

[lostnfound]

12. Hmmm..if we had access to secret memos by Republican strategists..

would we read them?

I think the answer is yes.

If it was a genuine mistake by a genuine computer technician, then I think the Republicans may be guilty (in this specific instance) only of not having a squeaky clean character or not being utterly honest and forthright. Few would ignore the chance if the computer files of their opposition were wide open, if one believes that the opposition is a threat.

On the other hand, if the Republicans actively participated in MAKING the files open (by bribing the technician or hacking or something similar), it's an entirely different story.

[DUreader]

13. No, I think, under the USAPATRIOT Act, this is actually terraism

[Stephanie]

14. They were stealing files for a YEAR

They were systematically stealing Dem files for an entire YEAR, without alerting anyone that files that should have been password protected were not.

If you found you could withdraw $$ from someone else's bank account without a PIN code, are you free to do so? Would you say that it is someone else's fault for making it possible for you to break into the account and steal?

Things like ETHICS used to matter in government.

[Judi Lynn]

16. Thank you, Stephanie, for pointing out a principle

which eludes a few, seemingly.

It seems dammed clear to the rest of us.

[PaDUer]

52. Ethics?..

Gee, I thought that would mean plenty to these holy rollers!

[bobbieinok]

80. and do it everyday FOR A YEAR?????????

and of course it's the democrats' fault......it's ALWAYS the democrats' fault.....

[Skidmore]

18. But Frist 's office says:

"Reached at home, Miranda said he is on paternity leave; Frist's office said he is on leave "pending the results of the investigation" -- he denied that any of the handwritten comments on the memos were by his hand and said he did not distribute the memos to the media. He also argued that the only wrongdoing was on the part of the Democrats -- both for the content of their memos, and for their negligence in placing them where they could be seen."

It's the D's fault that the R's just can't determine right from wrong for themselves.

[GreenGreenLimaBean]

40. Irony isn't dead

The party that didn't vote for the "Family Medical Leave Act",
claims the perpetrator of this crime is on PATERNITY LEAVE!

[LiberalFighter]

86. Bet they used the technique Cheney uses to cover his tracks...

as explained in the book "The Price of Loyalty"

[Beetwasher]

25. If I tell You the Lock on Your Door is Broken

and you don't fix it and I rob you, am I guilty of robbing you or is it your fault?

You know damn well I'd still be guilty of robbing you regardless of the fact that you told me my lock was broken. You would be an idiot for not fixing your lock, but I'd still be a criminal.

You're point is ethically bankrupt.

[Skidmore]

31. Beet, seriously

I wasn't agreeing with them, only pointing out their asinine defense.

[bobbyboucher]

63. Gimme a break.

Man that is a reach. They used an opening to steal private info. Case closed. The "few would ignore the chance" blather gives away the fact that you obviously have some integrity and morality deficiencies.

Not everyone is a fuckin' theif and fraud, FYI.

[WingNOT]

70. Excellent post from Slashdot on this subject

Apologies for plaguarising...

I look out my kitchen window and see across the yard that my stupid neighbor has left for vacation with his back door wide open.

Do I:

< > Call him on his cellphone and tell him
< > Call the police and tell them
< > Go and close and lock the door myself
< > Ignore the problem - its not mine
< > Wander over at will and rummage through his refrigerator
< > "Barrow" his snow-blower
< > Go through his softcore porn collection leaving samples on the doorsteps of his adjacent neighbors


Would you want a neo-con as a neighbour when it's put like that...?!

[Skidmore]

15. Well, surprise, surprise, surprise...

and there's that heaping POS, Bob Novak, involved in this too.

[0007]

35. 'Ol Bobby Novak is used like a silly whore -

No wonder, he had that omnipotent look on his mug all the time.

[icymist]

17. Interesting...

I'll be watching this story as it developes.

[Beetwasher]

24. This is Precious, The Repubs Defense! You Won't Believe it!

"As the extent to which Democratic communications were monitored came into sharper focus, Republicans yesterday offered a new defense. They said that in the summer of 2002, their computer technician informed his Democratic counterpart of the glitch, but Democrats did nothing to fix the problem."

Get it? It's the Dems fault because they did nothing about the glitch.

That's like saying "I told you the lock on your door was broken and you didn't fix it so it's YOUR fault I robbed you."

[KayLaw]

33. So typical

The party of responsibility, right?

[DBoon]

27. kevin mitnick spent years incarcerated for doing just this

hacking federal interest computer systems is a federal felony. The fact that the owners of the site didn't security it perfectly has NEVER been an excuse (otherwise it would be OK to hack most of the Fed's computers). If I had tried this sort of thing, I have no doubt the FBI would be right at my front door.

[leftofthedial]

32. jail baby

Repugs are amoral criminals. Every single one of them.

[nolabels]

34. Damn, The office of Senate Sergeant-at-Arms is doing it's job

Better cut that budget and amend the office, can't have any thing like that going on :-)

[wabeewoman]

36. No wonder the democrats have been so ineffectual.

And no wonder Teddy Kennedy looks so pissed at the SOTU address. If it isn't hacking because they could access it, wouldn't that make any hackers defense, it wasn't adequately protected or I wouldn't have been able to hack in?? This administration and their cronies are going down in history as the most corrupt of all time!

[Abaques]

37. People should be more angry about this...

Seriously, some of the geeks on Slashdot have become more fired up about this then alot of the comments I've read here. This could very well be a Watergate kind of event. Lets let people know that we're mad...


Also, take a look at the opinions on Slashdot, the geek perspective on this is kinda interesting (spoken as a geek of course...)

http://slashdot.org/articles/04/01/22/1433208.shtml?tid=103&tid=126&tid=172&tid=99

[WingNOT]

39. Then make them aware of it - contact all the SCLMedia you can !!

Email all the contacts you can find and ask them WHY they aren't covering it !!

I've started with Sidney Blumenthal, the Guardian & Independent Newspapers from the UK & Channel4 News in the UK...

Anybody else want to keep the ball rolling...?!

[jbfam4]

41. I sent it into countdown

on MSNBC.....Looked for it on DRUDGE, but as of yet it wasn't there.

[Rockholm]

43. Not on Drudge either, however (this is IMPORTANT)...

speaking of good ol' Matty Drudge, he had a big blip on his site alluding to a developing story regarding John Edwards and some dude who is going to "spill the beans." This little blurb is gone now. What the f**k is happening to this country?

[jbfam4]

47. Welcome to DU

Is this the John Edwards story on Drudge you were talking about?


DRUDGE: EDWARDS BACKED STOCK MARKET GAMBLE FOR SOCIAL SECURITY...

When will the media wake up......I have been sending them wake up calls about the Boston Globe article, but so far have heard nothing.

[Rockholm]

60. Nope, it was some other story...rather freaky

[truthisfreedom]

57. it's on BUZZFLASH.COM

vist there when you can.

[jbfam4]

75. Took hours to post it,

but Drudge now has it . http://drudgereport.com/

[Rockholm]

42. CNN and MSNBC DO NOT Mention This At All.....

Just looked at both web sites and there is not a single mention and I have not heard ANYTHING so far on CNN today. Ain't this just great. Watergate 2004 and not a single mention.

[WingNOT]

44. OK - do more than LOOK then... here's a link for the BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_news_24/1885695.stm

This is for the BBC's digital rolling news channel - it cross feeds with BBC World and the main UK BBC news output...

Here's what I submitted: (you may want to include a DU thread link too!!)

Watergate take II ? "Infiltration of files seen as extensive - Senate panel's GOP staff pried on Democrats"

Hi,

You may have seen this story already - but I've seen nothing in the UK so far. It's only because I follow the 'blogsphere' that I've heard anything. Atrios & Josh Marshall & Slashdot are all over this one...

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/01/22/infiltration_of_files_seen_as_extensive/

Infiltration of files seen as extensive
Senate panel's GOP staff pried on Democrats
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.

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/01/22/1433208&tid=

http://atrios.blogspot.com/2004_01_18_atrios_archive.html#107478226235201118

[Rockholm]

46. I have already ready the Globe article....

(6:30am when my paper arrived). Just commenting that it is amazing that the cable beasts are not reporting it.

[WingNOT]

51. You're missing the point Rockholm...

You need to take responsibility for the media not reporting it. If enough people bash down the doors of the So-called-liberal-media maybe they'll pick the story up and run it. If not - don't sit on the sidelines and expect someone else will do something - they probably won't !

After all the Globe may not be the NYT or WaPo but it has a name.

See if you can get it out there...

Grow that story's circulation...!! (As in submit it to all the media outlets you can find...)

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_01_18.html#002466

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/01/22/1433208&tid=

http://atrios.blogspot.com/2004_01_18_atrios_archive.html#107478226235201118

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/1/22/172859/052

http://www.intelligencefailure.com/archives/000023.html

http://www.intelligencefailure.com/archives/000022.html

[PaDUer]

58. Maybe flooding

their phone lines would be better.

[Rockholm]

59. Point received and acted upon....

Sent e-mails to CNN, MSRNC and FAUX. Basically asked in each email if they were planning on covering the story or covering the story up. Thanks!

[WingNOT]

62. Good move Rockholm ! eom

eom

[jbfam4]

73. Judy reported this on Inside politics.

good job, Rockholm.

[arendt]

38. If the Dems did this, they would be in Gitmo

Why isn't this a violation of the Patriot Act? It is spying on
the Federal Government.

Who is to say that someone on that GOP staff wasn't a mole
for Al Qaida? I mean, its the perfect cover :-). How could the
GOP suspect that the guy was really stealing government
secrets and sending them to Osama, not just to the GOP?

I say investigate all of them as potential traitors. Its the
GOP thing to do.

arendt

[Democat]

81. Every Republican in the Senate and Congress would be screaming about it

Do the Democrats have a plan to make this a huge issue?

I doubt it.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

45. You'd THINK that even the Zell Miller types

would be outraged at this.

[jbfam4]

48. well Hatch was

outraged that this happened on his watch.

HUMMMMM maybe this is the reason Frist told CNN that he was going back to being a DR. Less pressure implanting hearts since the GOP senate is heart less.

[laylah]

72. With all due respect

jb...Hatch is outraged that they were CAUGHT. That man doesn't have an ounce of honor or integrity in his whole body, imho; therefore, he couldn't care less that it was done, just that they were caught.

jenn

[jbfam4]

74. I agree

I was happy to see that Hatch was outraged that this happened on his watch. It takes a big person to admit this. The question is will Hatch do anything about this? Don't want this to be swept under the rug.

[Skidmore]

67. Ole Zell proabably gave him his

password to use.

[KeepItReal]

87. I wouldn't doubt that Skidmore

Zel Miller is a Democrat in name only.

[kala]

54. just had to

W@tergate :) I needed to register for this :)

[short bus president]

61. Welcome to DU, kala!

:hi:

[myrna minx]

76. Perfect!

Welcome to DU. :hi:

[Rex]

56. A partisan Cold War?

Wonder when they will move to the "next level" of aggression against Dems? I'm sure our pack of Dinos will hoo and haw about this, but will NEVER stand up to make this into a real issue.

[Xithras]

65. Sadly, no crime was committed here

As repugnant as this is, there is NO crime here. In order to prove a computer intrusion or electronic theft, you have to show one of the following two situations: 1) That the Republicans accessed the server without permission. 2) That accessing the files required the avoidance of existing security measures. Legally, these are the only two computer crimes recognized under federal law which could apply to this situation.

By the sound of it, the files for both parties were placed on a single server (sounds incredibly stupid to me), so we can't hit them with #1. As for #2, if the technician failed to password protect a public folder on a shared server, then it would be practically impossible to prosecute this as a forced intrusion.

Several people here have compared this to breaking into a house or taking money out of an ATM, but the electronic trespassing laws in the US are very different from those that deal with real property. It isn't analogous to taking money from an ATM because nothing is taken...the original is left unaltered (interestingly, if they distributed it, our party may be able to hit them with copyright violation). It's not analogous to walking into someones unlocked house either because it WASN'T their house...they were roomies.

If members of our party dumped files that were SUPPOSED to be confidential into a public folder on a server that was accessible by all of the Senate, it will be practically impossible to prove that the Rethugs did anything LEGALLY wrong by reading those documents.

Of course, the ethics committee may be a different story.

Oh, and I hope to hell that they fired that tech.

[bobbyboucher]

66. If the Dems don't fight about this then they are

more than deserving their reputation as pink tutus who won't stand up and defend themselves. Worse than cowards.

[Democat]

83. Do you really think they are going to change now?

Every time a potential Republican scandal comes up, Democrats drop the ball.

We don't own the media like the right wing, so we would have to fight even harder.

Instead, we don't fight at all.

[JohnOneillsMemory]

68. GOP spin: "Dems can't be trusted with national security." Dog eat dogshit.

That's how this will play in the minds of fear-laden TV Nation-
"It's an ugly dangerous world and I want ugly dangerous leaders to look out for my butt, not ethical nice guys who can't hide their own playbooks."

I'm afraid this issue is lose-lose for Dems.

The issue of fairness has long ago been swept aside by a 'might makes right' Machiavellian justification for winning at any cost.

You can drive a stake through Newt Gingrich's heart but it has successfully been transplanted into many of the American people.

[Fovea]

69. Novak says he doesn't reveal his sources

Fine, let's subpoena the CNN mail server and all backups and all his records.

I betcha it would not matter what he said after that.

[DODI]

71. Please keep me posted --

I can't watch evening news tonight -- someone please keep me posted --I am especially interested in whether NECN does anything on this.

Thanks!

[loudnclear]

77. So why isn't this news on FOX or anywhere else? Did I miss it?

This sounds "major" to me. Why aren't the Dem candidates "screaming" this? This is really something to scream about!

[Democat]

82. It isn't in the news because Democrats aren't getting it in the news

Where is every elected Democrat in the United States.

If this isn't a scandal, there is no such thing as a Republican scandal.

Where are the Democrats?

[w4rma]

78. GOP can invoke the Patriot Act in their defense? </sarcasm, maybe> (n/t)

[gauguin57]

88. can someone tell me

why this story doesn't have legs? This is outrageous! It should be the top headline everywhere. Why isn't the media hammering away on this?

[drew robinson]

89. where is the outrage

The New York times basically buried this story today:

Senate Inquiry Into Memos That Went Astray Nears End

...

David Smith, a spokesman for Senator Kennedy, said, however, that what occurred "was clearly an improper unethical and unacceptable breach of confidential files." He said that anybody who retrieved the documents or even had use of them later should be disciplined. Another senior Democratic aide on the Judiciary Committee said that while what occurred was objectionable, there was no need for any criminal investigation.

Looks like this one is going to fizzle out. There's one big lesson to be learned, and that's that the Dems need to get serious on computer security. Why were they sending sensitive memos on a server like this, unencrypted?

I talk about some of this stuff on my new blog, check it out, and pass this story along. This is the digital equivalent of watergate and its an outrage that it's being buried like this.

[ignatius]

90. Novak is undermining the security of this country and is so

unpatriotic as he wheels his barrells of money to the bank.

If my bcak door has a broken lock, my neighbor tells me and I don't fix it, does that mean the neighbor can rob me blind and it is my fault for not fixing it?

Frist AND the frickin' justice department involved..holy moly, this is disgusting,corrupt,and somebody should go down big time over this.

Each and every day I think things can't get much worse in Washington and each and every day these thugs prove me wrong!!!