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The ISP/ECTR Workaround: The New Broadband Rules May Be Not So Much What They'll Sell, But What They Give Away

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emptywheel
A letter Ed Markey sent to ISPs in the wake of Trump overturning Obama's broadband privacy rules suggests the change may let the government continue to obtain netflow data from big broadband providers with just a National Security Letter.
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The October Non-Surprise

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emptywheel
There's always one detail of the week of October 7 Democrats leave out: the effort to discredit Wikileaks by claiming it was releasing doctored emails.
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Why Susan Rice May Be a Shiny Object

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emptywheel
The right wing propaganda machine wants to conflate the question of whether Susan Rice appropriately unmasked Trump associate IDs in intelligence reports and who the nine sources for the WaPo story revealing the content of Mike Flynn's conversations with Sergey Kislyak. But that doesn't necessarily make sense.
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Latest Carter Page Scoop May Not Be That Incriminating

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emptywheel
As multiple outlets have confirmed, Carter Page was recruited by Russia's SVR in 2013. But that doesn't necessarily mean he'd be easily recruited in 2016.
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Devin Nunes' So-Called Bibi Netanyahu Precedent

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emptywheel
Devin Nunes keeps saying the incidental collection of Republicans colluding with Bibi Netanyahu is precedent for what he claims has happened with the incidental collection of Trump aides. That doesn't make sense.
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Who Violated Their Designated Role: Ezra Cohen-Watnick or Susan Rice?

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emptywheel
The only way the White House could make (credible, as opposed to regurgitated right wing propaganda) accusations about leakers is to have spied even more inappropriately than they are accusing the Obama White House of doing. Instead, they seem to be focused on obscuring surveillance issues.
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Raw Versus Cooked: Could NSC Monitor FBI's Investigation?

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emptywheel
FBI may have more ability to shield investigations into Trump's aides than some posts suggest. But there's always the risk that Trump will use a Bybee memo precedent to demand any grand jury materials on such an investigation.
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Devin Nunes May Be a Buffoon and a Hack, But I Don't Think He's a Criminal

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emptywheel
Devin Nunes is a dope. But I don't think he's a criminal dope.
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BBC's FISA Reporter Argues CIA Should Lead Trump Investigation

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emptywheel
The reporter who confirmed the reported FISA order on two Russian banks is back,now confirming one part of the Christopher Steele dossier, but also airing complaints that the FBI, and not the CIA, is leading the investigation into Trump's ties to Russia.
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The Flynn and Kushner Interviews with SSCI

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emptywheel
Richard Burr adopted a very notable double standard about whether he'd discuss conversations with Mike Flynn and Jared Kushner. Here's why that's so interesting.
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Freedom in the Health Care Debate

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Ed Walker
Public hostility to the ACHA tells us that people don't want freedom to buy stuff, they want to be free from the fear that they will be ruined by the medical industry.
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Did Trump Just Confirm He Hid Sally Yates' Warning from Mike Pence?

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emptywheel
Adam Schiff suggests that Trump's delay in firing Mike Flynn would be of interest to the House Intelligence Committee. One thing that happened during that delay was a phone call with Vladimir Putin.
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What Was the Relationship Between FSB and GRU in the DNC Hack, Redux?

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emptywheel
The relationship between two different hacking groups in the DNC hack has always been curious and conflicting. Last week's HPSCI hearing -- as well as the Yahoo hack -- only further obscured the issue.
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Did Devin Nunes Just Reveal NSC Is Monitoring Agency Response to Congress?

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emptywheel
More details on Devin Nunes' middle of the night trip to the White House come out.
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DHS IG Gives Secret Service All Clear for 2014 Fence Jumper Incident 6 Days After Latest Fence Jumper

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emptywheel
Six days after Jonathan Tran managed to jump the White House fence and rattle the White House door, DHS IG issued a report saying that Secret Service had taken action on improvements recommended after a similar 2014 incident.
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The Jared Kushner Meeting Gets Closer to Quid Pro Quo

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emptywheel
The meeting between Jared Kushner and the head of a sanctioned Russian bank gets far closer to the kind of quid pro quo that would merit action against Trump than all the other allegations swirling around.
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National Enquirer's Serial Spy Novel: Featuring Hillary, Flynn, Assange, Pence, and Ryan

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emptywheel
People assume the National Enquirer piece claiming Mike Flynn is "the Russian spy in Trump's midst" is a pre-emptive hit because Flynn is (allegedly) cooperating with the FBI. But it's probably, instead, part of a larger effort to justify a generalized witch hunt.
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The Lesson Trump Has (Thus Far) Not Taught Us: Civilian Casualties

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emptywheel
Many US policies that have gotten worse under Trump are being delegitimized. But not, yet, increased civilian casualties as a result of American bombs.
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Republicans Prepare to Accuse Hillary of Russian Ties

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emptywheel
On Monday, Devin Nunes suggested some private citizens might have evidence of Russian attempts to cultivate Hillary's campaign. Since then Republicans get closer to offering up such allegations.
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