HOMELAND INSECURITY: There is a battle going on between the Treasury Department and the Department of Homeland Security over control of the Secret Service. For over a century, the Secret Service was part of Treasury. But all that changed after 9/11 when DHS was created, and all manner of outfits were lumped together to form the new department. Now, according to the New York Times, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is fighting to regain control of the Service. Who will win this battle? Our money is on Treasury.
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE: Russian-government-owned media outlet “RT” looked to Chinese-government-owned Global Times to do a little U.S. Secretary of State bashing. RT quotes GT editor Hu Xijin as saying that Mike Pompeo “can no longer play the role of a top diplomat” and claimed that he “has become the most troublesome U.S. official for China.” Apparently, Hu is in a huff because of recent comments by Pompeo reminding folks of the Tiananmen Square anniversary. “To China, he is still a CIA director who takes over the State Department,” Hu tweeted.
STATEMENT ABOUT STATE: One of the scores of Democrat presidential aspirants, Elizabeth Warren, tweeted out last week that if elected, she would end “the practice of auctioning off American diplomacy” and would “end the corrupt practice of selling cushy diplomatic posts to wealthy donors.” As is her wont, Warren “has a plan for that.” She posted a document titled: “My Plan to Rebuild the State Department” which talks about doubling the size of the foreign service, recruiting a new generation of FSOs, professionalizing ambassadors and more.
NOT A CUSHY POST: One State Department assignment unlikely to be filled (or perhaps even visited) by wealthy donors is the U.S. Embassy in Gabon. The blog Diplopundit recently shared the results of a State Department Office of Inspector General report on the embassy in Libreville. It did not get high marks. According to the IG, the Ambassador had a penchant for verbal outbursts and cursing at his staff which “created anxiety and impeded communications and embassy operations.” The staff, fearing negative reactions if they told the Ambassador something he didn’t want to hear, frequently kept him in the dark. Relations got so bad that the Ambassador had almost no communication with one member of his team for about two months. Unfortunately, that person was responsible for embassy security.
WHIPPING THE STAFF INTO SHAPE: We are as surprised as you about this State Department-heavy edition of The Dead Drop – but sometimes events beg for coverage. Late last week as the President was departing for the G-20, the U.S. Chief of Protocol, Sean Lawler, was “suspended indefinitely” in part for intimidating employees by carrying a whip around the office. Before becoming a “diplomat” – Lawler was reportedly a master chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy, an organization more inclined to understand the “humor” of the lash.
FOLLOW YOUR STARS: The Central Intelligence Agency made news in April for launching an Instagram account. At last check, the Agency had 161,000 followers. But CBS News recently discovered that the CIA is itself following only 11 accounts. Just about all of them are Hollywood stars who have appeared in intelligence-related projects. “Being followed by the CIA” might make some people nervous – but we suspect these folks (including Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Chastain and Claire Danes) don’t mind.
SHOW ME THE MONEY: Late last week, the White House released (as it is required to do) an annual report to Congress listing the names, titles and salaries of personnel assigned to the Executive Office of the President. The list contains some of the usual folks (Assistants to the President like John Bolton and the recently-departed Sarah Sanders made $183K a year.) But then there are some surprises. For example, John Czwartacki (someone we never heard of – who reportedly is “senior advisor to the Chief of Staff for Strategy and Stakeholder Engagement”) is pulling down a cool $239,595 a year. Oddly, Czwartacki’s boss, Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, who brought him over from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is paid $30,095 a year less. Power couple Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner both earn $0.00 but somehow, they are apparently able to make ends meet.
MENDEZ RULES: Lots of media (including The Cipher Brief) have reported on The Moscow Rules: The Secret CIA Tactics That Helped America Win the Cold Warby Tony and Jonna Mendez. But local news site DVM.COM was among the first we have seen to do an in-depth story on Tony Mendez’s long battle with Parkinson’s disease. (He passed away earlier this year.) The story includes an extended interview with Jonna Mendez and is well-worth watching.
“SPIES LIKE US”: That was the title of a 1985 Dan Ackroyd and Chevy Chase movie – but now it is also the moniker for a group of episodes of Newt Gingrich’s podcast. The first guest on the former House Speaker’s spy witness news, is legendary intelligence officer, and Cipher Brief expert, Charlie Allen.
WATCH THIS SPACE: There is a debate going on regarding the creation of a special outfit that President Trump wants to focus on the heavens. The administration wants to call it “the Space Force” while others want to call it the “Space Corps.” What’s the diff? Could be a lot…including whether the unit is a stand-alone new military service – or simply a subset of the USAF. And there is another debate bubbling in the background. Watch for a fight on what kind of rank structure the new organization adopts. Some argue that it should mirror the Air Force – with “colonels” and “generals” and the like. Others say spaceships should be captained by folks sporting naval ranks. After all, it was Captain Kirk of the starship Enterprise.
MERKEL MALADY: Twice recently, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has begun to heavily tremble while at public events. What is going on? Apparently, that is what foreign intelligence services want to know too. The Sunday Times of London reported that various spy agencies are trying to get to the bottom of Angela’s ailments. One Western intelligence agency was said to have concluded that the Chancellor is suffering from a “neurological problem.” The German newspaper Bild says that foreign spy outfits have been trying to gain access to Merkel’s medical records to probe her prognosis.
POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
A BREATH OF FRESH AIR: Julia Davis courageously watches Russian State TV so you don’t have to. She tweeted that this past week during the G-20 Summit, Kremlin-controlled TV zoomed in on photos of President Trump sucking on a mint “apparently concerned about the freshness of his breath” while waiting for Vladimir Putin to arrive.
WATCHING PAINT DRY: CNN’s Barbara Starr tweeted out a photo on Monday of the new, improved Pentagon briefing room. It has gotten a makeover – and sleek new lecterns. The photo shows the set up behind a velvet rope which Starr says is just to keep visitors from touching the new paint. Chances are the paint will dry long before the room is needed since it has been 13 months since it has been used by a Pentagon spokesman to answer media questions.
“WASHINGTON IS WRONG” That may be the money quote from a forthcoming movie about the Battle of Midway. The flick, coming out in November reportedly centers on a naval intelligence officer who wins the day over conventional wisdom from DC – leading to success in one of the most pivotable battles in American military history. Admiral Chester Nimitz is played by Woody Harrelson (who has come a long way from tending bar at “Cheers.”) The first trailer for the movie has just been released.
IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING: Got any tips for your friendly neighborhood Dead Drop? Shoot us a note at TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.
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