PRESIDENTIAL PRAISE FOR CIA: Well, not THAT president. AP reported that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (AKA the “Trump of the Tropics”) visited CIA headquarters on Monday. It is very unusual for foreign heads of state to visit Langley, and even more unusual for their government to acknowledge such a visit. Turns out Bolsonaro’s son, Eduardo, is a congressman in Brazil and accompanied his father to Washington. The younger Bolsonaro took to twitter to say: "Going now with the (president) and ministers to the CIA, one of the most respected intelligence agencies in the world." He added: "It will be an excellent opportunity to discuss international topics in the region with experts and technicians of the highest level." One Agency alumni was heard to observe that it was “passing strange” – when the President of Brazil (through his son) has nicer things to say about the CIA than the U.S. president.
BRACKET RACKET: Every March, news organizations, advertisers, and “social influencers” try to hijack some of the public interest and excitement caused by the NCAA’s “March Madness.” Our award winner this year for cleverest adaptation of the basketball bracket theme goes to the folks at Muckrock.com. By the time you read this – it may be too late to enter (the deadline for entry is 6 PM EDT Friday March 22) but still, check out their site. Instead of matching up college B-Ball teams, Muckrock is submitting identical Freedom of Information Act requests to government agencies and asking readers to predict which agencies will respond most quickly. Federal law says that agencies should respond to requests within twenty days – but don’t hold your breath. This is the fourth edition of FOIA March Madness. Check out the bracket here – and make your prediction on things like – who will be more responsive…the American Battle Monument Commission or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission? Who have you got in the first round matchup— the CIA vs. the Peace Corps?
PAGING CAPTAIN EINSTEIN: Last week, President Trump jumped into the controversy over aviation accidents involving Boeing’s 737 Max 8 aircraft when he tweeted that “Airplanes are becoming far too complex to fly. Pilots are no longer needed, but rather computer scientists from MIT. I see it all the time in many products. Always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when old and simpler is far better.” He added in another tweet that “…the complexity creates danger. All of this for great cost yet very little gain. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot.” This week, thanks to Defense One, we learned that cost of “buying, equipping, and preparing to operate the two Boeing 747s that will become the next Air Force One presidential transport aircraft "is now estimated to be $5.3 billion – almost 33% higher than the number routinely cited by White House and Pentagon officials."
REMEMBER PAUL WHELAN? It seems mass media had largely forgotten him until saw a Yahoo.com item by Jenna McLaughlin reminding everyone that the former Marine has been in Russian custody for close to three months now, facing espionage charges. Mass media weren’t the only ones who seem to have forgotten Whelan. McLaughlin notes that President Trump who proudly boasts of having helped free 17 Americans held hostage around the world, has been strangely silent about Whelan. Whelan’s twin brother notes that the Russians have also gotten away largely unscathed over the capture of Ukrainian sailors in November. The Yahoo.com story quotes former CIA officer (and Cipher Brief expert) John Sipher as saying the lack of public commentary about Whelan from the U.S. government may be part of a plan. “The Russians hate when we publicize things and spin them up,” he said. “They prefer to work on these things quietly.” Sipher added: “The embassy and administration may be trying to appease and accommodate the Russians to see if it works and may be holding off on escalation to see if it works.” Yahoo says when the White House was asked about any assistance given to Whelan, they referred questions to the Department of State. State says they are following the case closely – but following a call between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov – a State spokesperson said Whelan did not come up.
ATTENTION CONSPIRACY THEORISTS! Late last week there was confirmation that Nellie Ohr used to work for the CIA as a contractor. Nellie is the wife of Bruce Ohr, a former senior Department of Justice official who was involved in the FBI’s investigation of the Trump 2016 campaign. After her CIA green badger gig, Ms. Ohr was hired as a researcher for Fusion GPS – the outfit that produced the so-called “Steele dossier.” Nellie reportedly did open-source research on the Trump campaign for Fusion GPS. According to “Epoch Times,”prior to working for Fusion GPS, Ohr worked for an internal open-source division of the CIA named Open Source Works. “Open Source Works” is different from the better known, Open Source Enterprise, formally known as Open Source Center. Why is this important? We have no idea. It likely is not. But throwing around a spouse’s former employment as an open-source researcher for the CIA seems to cast a spooky image. BTW, if you are not familiar with Epoch Times – neither were we. But a little open source research shows that it is a multi-language newspaper headquartered in New York City that was started by a group of Chinese Americans who practice Falun Gong. That is probably not important either – but we thought we would throw that out there to keep the conspiracy theorists busy.
NEW CIA CIO: About two months ago, The Dead Drop was the first to tell you that CIA CIO John Edwards was moving up to the Deputy COO job at the Agency. (The CIA publicly confirmed that this week.) Various media outfits are now reporting that Juliane Gallina, currently a partner and VP at IBM U.S. Federal, is coming in to fill Edwards’ old role. Gallina reportedly is a retired Navy commander who later held a variety of positions with the National Reconnaissance Office before entering the private sector. Her transition from government service to the private sector and back again mirrors Edwards’ career path. When Edwards came back to the CIA after a few years on the outside he was reportedly telling friends about his decision to come back, describing it as: “Less pay, longer hours, worse commute. What’s not to love?” Edwards' very first public comments in his new role will happen this weekend at The Cipher Brief Threat Conference in Sea Island, GA.
POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
OUT HOUSE: A regular feature in the Military Times newspapers these days are stories about commanding officers and senior personnel whose careers crash and burn in a colorful fashion. This week’s entry in the demolition derby is Commander John House who was head of the Navy Recruiting District Michigan until an investigation reported that he “berated subordinates, drank with junior sailors, (and) commented on female officers’ looks.” Pretty standard stuff when it comes to bad boss behavior. But here is our favorite part. According to Navy Times, House routinely conducted award ceremonies “wearing civilian clothes and flip-flops.” Other than the berating subordinates part, it sounds like House modeled his leadership style on Jimmy Buffet. He also reportedly insisted that subordinates not call him “Commander” or “Skipper” but just “House.” House also had some innovative ideas on how his recruiters could make their goals. He reportedly suggesting to a female recruiter that she sign up for the “Tinder” app – and target high school officials to date, in order to gain access to schools and generate leads. The Navy’s investigation into House’s style was cut short when he asked for and was granted permission to retire. Unclear what he will do next – but it will probably involve a place more conducive to flip flops than his past duty station in Detroit. House declined to comment on the allegations when asked by the Times.
NATIONAL EMERGENCY IN CHINA? According to The Guardian, China is claiming that they have arrested 13,000 “terrorists” in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the country in the last five years. Wow, an invasion of 13,000 terrorists. Maybe should China should build a big beautiful wall.
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