Richard Clarke Says U.S. Chamber Committed A Felony By Cyber-Targeting Political Opponents

[kpete]

Richard Clarke Says U.S. Chamber Committed A Felony By Cyber-Targeting Political Opponents

.......................

According to documents first reported by ThinkProgress, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce began working with three military contractors — Berico, HB Gary, and Palantir — to come up with a proposal to discredit groups like ThinkProgress, the SEIU, StopTheChamber.com, MoveOn.org, and others. The tactics proposed included spying on families, using malware computer viruses to steal private information, using fake documents to embarrass liberals, and creating fake identities to infiltrate their targets.

Clarke denounced the scandal in no uncertain terms. Noting accurately that the Chamber “took foreign money in the last election,” a story also uncovered by ThinkProgress, Clarke said the Chamber had conspired to commit a “felony”:

FANG: Hi. You talked a lot about classifying and recognizing cyber security threats, but you mostly focused on foreign threats. I’m curious about a story that broke last month, that the US Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest trade association, based here in DC, had contracted or attempted to contract military defense firms like HB Gary Federal, Palantir, and Berico, to develop proposals to use the same type of cyber warfare tactics normally reserved for Jihadi websites against left-wing activists, trade — labor unions, and left of center think tanks here in America. What do you think about that type of threat from a lobbyist or a corporation targeting political enemies, or perceived enemies here in the US?

CLARKE: I think it’s a violation of 10USC. I think it’s a felony, and I think they should go to jail. You call them a large trade association, I call them a large political action group that took foreign money in the last election. But be that as it may, if you in the United States, if any American citizen anywhere in the world, because this is an extraterritorial law, so don’t think you can go to Bermuda and do it, if any American citizen anywhere in the world engages in unauthorized penetration, or identity theft, accessing a number through identity theft purposes, that’s a felony and if the Chamber of Commerce wants to try that, that’s fine with me because the FBI will be on their doorstep in a matter of hours.

more:
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/03/24/richard-clarke-chamber-hacking-scandal/

[highplainsdem]

1. K&R

[unkachuck]

2. "...cyber warfare tactics normally reserved for Jihadi websites against left-wing activists,..."

....if Clarke thinks they should go jail, who am I to disagree?....send these right-wing corporate fascists to prison where they belong....how can we ever be free, when this scum walks our streets....

[EFerrari]

3. Kick!

[Kingofalldems]

4. Special Prosecutor needed immediately

[pacalo]

6. +1.

[markpkessinger]

11. Special Prosecutors investigate government/government officials...

...not private lobbying groups like the Chamber of Commerce. This is something the FBI and the Justice Department could and should investigate, but under Obama/Holder, don't hold your breath.

[Kingofalldems]

20. Suppose the candidates were aware?

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. Yes, but who's going to prosecute them?

[gratuitous]

7. Okay, the House is obviously out

The Senate? Too busy checking their hair in the mirror. U.S. Department of Justice? Nope, too busy lookin' forward to the future to be all preoccupied with wallowing in the past. No investigation, no prosecution. No prosecution, no convictions. No justice. Peace?

[markpkessinger]

12. Certainly not the Obama/Holder DOJ! n/t

[w4rma]

8. "A" Singular? Not multiple-serial felonies? (nt)

[Angry Dragon]

9. 'Off with their heads'

An old French saying I think................

[markpkessinger]

10. And what are the chances Obama's DOJ will act?

Zip. Nada. Zilch. Nullo. Nicht.

[RagAss]

14. Two chances....

None and None Whatsoever !

[mod mom]

17. Too busy infiltrating anti war groups.

[PufPuf23]

13. One does not have to be particularly radical left wing to be

an enemy of the State in the USA.

I do not think I have ever been personally targeted except I left the Feds in 1986 after starting in 1969 in disgust (under Reagan where policy and local regional appointees tended to ignore law and reality for ideology). The the science and technical folks in the Agency then were usually exemplary and those that went to industry out of university were crony or second tier in what started as my field.

However, anti-war and environmental activists have been treated as enemies of the State since I came of age in the late 60s.

Government, science and research has been increasingly politicized and privatized (where privatization is more costly and a regressive incentitive for social good).

The DOJ under Holder is painful but Holder is following orders. War crimes, financial crimes, and murder are war crimes, financial crimes, and murder. We -- the USA -- are not a Nation under justice and fair rule of law and justice but a mockery and this breaks my heart and makes me and mine and what I care for in degradation and risk of more degradation.

[Lugnut]

15. They should go to jail.

Who will send them there?

[mojowork_n]

16. Same thing Faux News did in England

This was just posted recently:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x695722

"...Murdoch's papers have been hacking the phones of the liberal politicians and using the info gleaned to chase them out of office, ruin their character, etc. Besides politicians they have been hacking phones of both the rich and the famous...including the Princes of England..."

Who do these guys think they are, the Checka... KGB...? Felix Derzhinsky and Goebbels would both be proud to endorse those types of tactics.

[lz1122]

18. I've always liked Clarke

Always enjoyed his commentary on Bill Mahr's show. He has a lot of knowledge and experience.

[Uncle Joe]

19. Kicking and recommending for corporate media coverage of this issue, anybody our there?

Thanks for the thread, kpete.

[ck4829]

21. K&R

[blackspade]

22. Crickets from Holder and the DOJ

It is incredible that the DOJ can't seem to get off it's ass for the most blatant of crimes these days.
Well, unless you don't happen to be part of the power elite, in which case your ass ends up in jail.

[Scuba]

23. Did anybody really doubt this shit was going on? C'mon, we've had...

...domestic surveylance since that day after Ratification. But the whole-force widespread use of such tactics is at a new level today. The left is under attack from every direction.


When told he was on Nixon's "enemies list", Dick Gregory replied, "tell him I accept".

[snot]

24. K&R'd!

[freshwest]

25. There is an agency of the US government that deal with cyber terrorism.

I've seen the website online. But will they act?

[bobthedrummer]

26. ^