DEEP STATE INSECURITIES: Several Republican 2024 presidential candidates have been vocal about their distrust of the Justice Department and FBI. Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, for example, has vowed to tear down and rebuild DOJ and fire FBI Director Chris Wray on day one of his administration. And, of course, it is no secret that former President Trump holds the same outfits in low regard. Last week, he pledged to “totally obliterate the deep state” if he returned to office. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R, CA) said last week, that he supports blocking funding to build a new FBI headquarters, a move that some of his colleagues have proposed in order to punish the G-Men and women because they have somehow been “weaponized.” And on Wednesday, Fox News host Jesse Watters said the FBI and CIA could use what was on Hunter Biden’s laptop to blackmail President Biden. “They can just dangle it in front of Joe and he has to do whatever they say or else, ‘boop'” he said. But lest you think that Republicans have the market cornered on distrusting the government – we give you Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who told popular podcaster Joe Rogan recently that Kennedy feels he’s “gotta be careful” about the possibility of the U.S. government trying to assassinate him. Kennedy said “I’m aware of that danger and I don’t live in fear of it at all. But I’m not stupid about it and I take precautions.” He also has previously said that there is “overwhelming evidence that the CIA was involved” in the murder of his uncle, JFK, and that this is “beyond a reasonable doubt at this point.”
SECRET SERVICE: During the last mid-term election, some DOD employee inappropriately released information from the personnel records of several former USAF service members who were running for elective office as Republicans. While it was clearly an error, the Air Force said that “There was no evidence of political motivation or malicious intent on the part of any employee.” But now, NBC News’ Courtney Kube reports that some members of Congress are proposing legislation that - according to one unnamed defense official - “…is a complete overreaction to a misunderstanding.” The legislation would ban the release of any personal information about people’s military service without that person’s written permission. Currently, the media and the public can obtain information like a person’s rank, dates of rank, past duty assignments, awards and decorations, duty status and official photo. If the ban goes into effect, it will make it much easier for those prone to “stolen valor” to make outlandish claims about their past military service and stymie the media and the public from uncovering hoaxes. Doug Sterner, who maintains a database of Medal of Honor recipients and who fought to have a law enacted to make illegal pretending to have been awarded a high military honor, said that banning the release of military service records is “…a horrible idea, and it flies in the face of the true history of the men and women that preserved this great nation."
NO OFFENSE, GENERAL: The website The Intercept reported over the weekend, about a little-known mission of a little-known outfit formerly called the “U.S. Army Protective Services Battalion.” Apparently, the outfit has been renamed “the Executive Protection and Special Investigations Field Office.” Their mission that has The Intercept spun up, is one (going back at least a dozen years according to Army records) of protecting former high-ranking military officials from “assassination, kidnapping, injury or embarrassment.” And it is the “embarrassment” that really sticks in The Intercept’s craw because the Executive Protection unit has recently expanded their mission to include monitoring social media for “direct, indirect, and veiled” threats and identifying “negative sentiment” against their protectees. We’re guessing that the Army is not really worried about Americans who express negative views about retired generals…but if there are some folks using social media to plan harm to them – that would be genuinely embarrassing to those charged with protecting them if they failed to notice in advance. The Protective Services Field Office/Protective Intelligence Branch is seeking software that would collect publicly available information (anonymously) to detect online threats and pinpoint the location of the originators using various techniques.
UKRAINE NO-STRIKE ZONE: Here in the United States, movies, television dramas and late-night TV talk shows have ground to a halt as a result of a nearly two-month-old strike by the Writers Guild of America. The 11,500 striking writers have also idled tens of thousands of others in the entertainment industry who refuse to cross picket lines. But Military.com reports that the shows must go on in Ukraine – where, despite there being a war taking place, film and television production continues. One dramatic series called “In Her Car” is set in the early days following the 2022 Russian invasion. The main character is a woman who uses her personal vehicle to take refugees to safety. According to the report, “each show tells the survival story of a new passenger and how they're escaping the war's toll on their lives. The show is currently filming in undisclosed locations around the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.” German and French TV networks are financially backing the series – proving that European cooperation with Ukraine extends beyond the provision of war supplies.
POCKET LITTER: Dead Droplets and bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
DEATH TROLLS: Russian media have been suggesting recently that Ukraine’s top commander, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi may have been killed or injured on the battlefield. And other Russian accounts hinted that he had fled the warzone. So, the Ukrainians, who excel at trolling their enemies as well as fighting them, released a video of Zaluzhnyi examining maps with fellow generals. He was in full uniform with an added “Baby Yoda” badge pinned to his chest. The Baby Yoda, whose proper name is “Din Grogu” is a character in the Disney Star Wars TV show “The Mandalorian.” It has also launched countless internet memes – almost none of which we understand. We are also not entirely sure what subliminal message the general was sending by donning the badge – but we think he was letting Moscow know he is not dead yet.
WANT TO EARN A BABY TCB BADGE OF MERIT? Send us tips on news we can include in an upcoming Dead Drop and you will be awarded a stylish (and entirely imaginary) pin. Send items to us at: TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.
