FAS | Intelligence | News | 2018 |||| Search | Join FAS

Newer News: August 2018

July 2018 Intelligence News

• Intelligence Community Releases Newly Declassified Tet Offensive Documents, ODNI news release, July 31. "Declassified documents are the first in a series of new releases to share historical information of current relevance."
• National Intel Office Restructures to Improve Operations by Charles S. Clark, Government Executive, July 27. "Seeking 'agility' in operations and analysis, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Wednesday unveiled the fruits of the transformation effort it announced in March, standing up four new directorates reporting to deputy directors."
• ODNI Completes Transformation Effort, ODNI news release, July 25. "Today, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence stood up a new organizational structure based on the Transformation plan that DNI Dan Coats and PDDNI Sue Gordon announced in March 2018."
• For Spies Emerging From the Shadows, a War With Trump Carries Risks by Julian E. Barnes and Mark Mazzetti, New York Times, July 24. "Mr. Trump's focus on the clearances of a handful of top officials belies a larger, longstanding issue for the national security apparatus -- the vast number of people who have access to government secrets."
• Security clearances: What exactly can Trump do? by Mark Morales and Laura Jarrett, CNN, July 23. "President Trump's willingness to consider revoking the security clearances of past officials is unprecedented and security analysts say it could carry dire consequences -- even if they agree he holds the power to do it."
• Trump considers yanking security clearances of his critics by Jill Colvin, Associated Press, July 23. "Legalities aside, it seems like a terrible mistake to use the security clearance system as an instrument of political vendettas," said Steven Aftergood at the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy.
• Attorney General Sessions Announces Publication of Cyber-Digital Task Force Report, Justice Dept news release, July 19. "The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the cyber-enabled threats confronting the Nation, and catalogs the ways in which the Department of Justice combats those threats." (The Report) (Fact Sheet)
• Ethics in the Intelligence Community -- Is There Room for Improvement? by Peter Suciu, ClearanceJobs, July 16. "A recent report from the Congressional Research Service highlights ethics within the CIA. When your job requires duplicity, understanding the ethical rules becomes even more important."
• USA v. Viktor Boris Netyksho, indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers for hacking in connection with the 2016 election, filed July 13
• Grand Jury Indicts 12 Russian Intelligence Officers for Hacking Offenses Related to the 2016 Election, Justice Dept news release, July 13. "The indictment charges twelve Russian nationals for committing federal crimes that were intended to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election. All twelve defendants are members of the GRU, a Russian Federation intelligence agency within the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian military."
• Statement of Administration Policy on House version of FY18-19 Intelligence Authorization Act, July 11. "Although the bill contains many provisions that advance the mission of the IC, the Administration has concerns with several others and looks forward to working with the Congress to address these concerns as outlined below."
• From the DNI and PDDNI: IC2025 Vision and Foundational Priorities, ODNI news release, July 9. "We are committed to ensuring that the IC is positioned to stay ahead of the diverse, complex, and growing threats facing the nation and support the President's National Security Strategy. In order to achieve this objective, we have worked with the entire community on an IC2025 initiative identifying guiding principles and foundational priorities to drive our work."