BACKING BILL: The Cipher Brief had an exclusive this week, obtaining a copy of a letter supporting the nomination of Ambassador Bill Burns to be the next CIA Director. The letter was sent to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) by a bi-partisan group of twelve former DCI’s or DCIA’s (including actings). The letter was dated February 22nd, but we did not get it until March. You know how slow the mail has been lately. The letter concluded that “Few people could be better prepared for the job of CIA Director than Ambassador Burns. We endorse his nomination and urge his swift confirmation.” The letter was signed by every living former CIA chief except James Woolsey (who was probably out trying to get to the bottom of the Kennedy assassination) and Mike Pompeo, who was off at CPAC and may not have been able to find one of those Chinese pens he had made while Secretary of State, to sign the letter. Just hours after The Cipher Brief published the letter, the SSCI voted unanimously to back Burns. We take full credit of course.
BACKING BIDEN: The New York Times noticed this week that an obscure publication with only 500 subscribers, “Democracy: A Journal of Ideas,” has six former contributors who have been nominated for senior positions in the Biden administration. While The Cipher Brief hasn’t hit six formers nominated for new positions (yet) it does boast four people among its list of experts who have been moved to the TCB alumni category after landing senior positions in the new administration. They include Secretary of State Tony Blinken, Deputy CIA Director David Cohen, Deputy Attorney General nominee Lisa Monaco, and Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin. The Cipher Brief prides itself on being non-partisan and, if the presidential election had turned out differently, we suspect we would have lost a similar number of TCB experts to serve in a second Trump administration.
DISAPPEARING INK: A week ago, the U.S. Intelligence Community released a declassified version of the CIA’s long-awaited report on Saudi complicity in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The report included a list of 21 individuals the government believed were involved. And just hours later, the first link to the report produced a “Not Found” error – and the ODNI put out a new document with three fewer names of alleged perpetrators. According to CNN – the ODNI shed little light on why the bureaucratic whoopsie. All they would say was: “We put a revised document on the website because the original one erroneously contained three names which should not have been included," an ODNI spokesperson told CNN. Of course, you cannot un-ring the bell. CNN promptly reported that the three names were Abdulla Mohammed Alhoeriny (the brother of a prominent Saudi general) and two other men, Yasir Khalid Alsalem and Ibrahim al-Salim who are not well-known. It is not clear what happened – but it looks like while the IC is busy telling “truth to power” they better add a few more editors – who can do proof-reading for power.
IF YOU THOUGHT 2020 WAS BAD: The Daily Star reports that an “800-year-old prophecy” is said to predict “U.S. War with Iran before the COVID pandemic ends.” And it is not just some small skirmish – but portends to bring “great strife and darkness into the world.” We are totally buying into this because any publication from the 13th century that predicted the United States (let alone cataclysmic war) is pretty darn impressive. The Daily Star picked up this tip from a site called Israel365 News which said this is all based on coded language in rabbinical commentary.
BECAUSE D. B. COOPER WAS UNAVAILABLE: Iowa State University booked an outside expert to lecture its students this week. Way outside. As local media put it “Fugitive and former CIA agent Edward Snowden” was enlisted to speak to local college students (remotely from Moscow.) His remarks are titled “Digital Surveillance: How Gen Z Gave Up Its Privacy to Corporations and the Government.” No word on how much Iowa State is paying the fugitive for his insights – or whether the government might try to intercept Snowden’s paycheck – since courts have previously ruled that his profits could be seized because Snowden failed to clear his views in advance as required. (In case you don’t get the D.B. Cooper reference in the title – here is some background.)
SPEAKING ABOUT LEAKING: Presidents always hate leaks. Ronald Reagan said he had had it “up to (his) keister” with leaks. And recently released (via FOIA) Department of Justice documents show that the Trump administration apparently shared in that sentiment. The Intercept reports that at least 334 requests were filed by the administration for leak investigations (the report did not include the last quarter of the Trump term.) That is about three times as many crimes reports submitted during the Obama administration. The Intercept has reported in the past that many (if not most) of the Trump investigations were aimed at staunching leaks about the Russia investigation.
POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
COLOR MY WORLD: We do not know why, exactly, but for some reason folklore has it that U.S. Marines are known for (among other things) eating crayons. We are sure it is urban myth that Leathernecks don’t know chow from Crayola. But the story persists, and Marine veteran Frank Manteau decided to do something about it. He monetized it. Manteau started a company called “Crayons Ready-to-Eat” that produces fully edible writing implements. They come in six colors, each one “honoring” a military service: Jarhead Red, Squid Blue, Dawg Face Green, Flyboy Yellow, Puddle Pirate Orange and Space Cadet White. They are triangular in shape (good thinking so they don’t roll off your desk on your amphibious ship.) No matter the color, they all reportedly taste like vanilla-flavored chocolate. According to their website they are safe to eat (unless you are a pet.) After all, pets maintain strict standards.
♫ IVAN, WORKING ON THE RAILROAD ♫: Have you ever had a job you couldn’t wait to leave? That must have been the feeling of some Russians assigned to their country’s embassy in Pyongyang. The North Koreans have made (normally difficult) travel from their capital nearly impossible in an effort to clamp down on coronavirus spread. One Russian diplomat was so anxious to see North Korea in the rear-view mirror that he and his family elected to complete their trip out of the country via a railroad trolley (AKA “handcart.”) The Russian embassy posted pictures of third secretary Vladislav Sorokin pushing his family (and their belongings) on a cart the final half mile of his journey. The pics must be seen to be believed.
BUTT OF A JOKE: The Chinese government has promised to put an end to their practice of using “anal swabs” on American diplomats to test them for COVID-19. Foggy Bottom officials told Vice News that “The State Department never agreed to this kind of testing and protested directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when we learned that some staff were subject to it.” Looking back on it – Chinese officials admitted that the tests were done in error.
WE’VE GOT YOUR BACK: Send your news tips to us at TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com and we will stick them only in the most appropriate places.
