Month: January 2017

Who are the federal government’s rogue tweeters, using official agency social media accounts to poke President Donald Trump? Are these acts of civil disobedience or federal crimes?

The online campaign began with unauthorized tweets — on subjects such as climate change, and inconsistent with Trump’s campaign statements and policies — that have been mostly deleted from official agency accounts. It shifted tactics Thursday as at least 40 new but unofficial “alternative” accounts for federal agencies began spreading across Twitter. It wasn’t clear how many unofficial accounts were being run by government employees, but there were early indications that at least some had been created by federal workers using their work email addresses — and that may have exposed their identities.

The administration said the earlier Twitter actions involved tweets by unauthorized users — at least one was a former employee — who still had passwords for the agency accounts, including one case involving the account for the Redwoods National Park in California. Legal experts said the Justice Department could prosecute such tweeters under federal hacking laws, but the FBI so far was not involved.

Unauthorized user

“An unauthorized user had an old password in the San Francisco office, went in and started retweeting inappropriate things that were in violation of their policy,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.

Separately, the National Park Service said tweets published earlier this week on the account of the Badlands National Park in South Dakota had been posted by a former employee not authorized to use the account.

Employees or former employees publishing unauthorized messages on official accounts could be prosecuted under the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which prohibits someone from exceeding authorized access to computers. “The argument would be that the authorization to use the account was only for employees and implicitly that was extinguished when the employee left government employment,” said Orin Kerr, a law professor at George Washington University.

Even employees authorized to use official agency Twitter accounts could face legal jeopardy by posting messages they weren’t supposed to write, said Stewart Baker, a cybersecurity lawyer and former National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security official.

“If someone says you may not tweet except in these circumstances, and you tweet in other circumstances, you’re exceeding authority,” Baker said. He added that some federal courts would examine the security measures in place and could throw out cases where employees weren’t clearly violating them.

Investigation possible

“It wouldn’t surprise me if at this stage a criminal investigation was opened and criminal tools were used to investigate this, even if at the end of the day they decided not to pursue criminal charges,” Baker said.

A federal law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter by name, said he was unaware of any requests from federal agencies to investigate the rogue tweets.

The unauthorized messages posted under official accounts appeared to be dropping off, as the Trump administration regained control over its agency accounts. Over last weekend, immediately after Trump’s inauguration, transition staff changed all social media passwords for the Environmental Protection Agency, said Jared Blumenfeld, a former EPA official under the Obama administration who said he was speaking regularly with former colleagues.

Starting Wednesday, scores of unofficial Twitter accounts appeared purporting to represent federal agencies, mocking Trump via the same social media service the president uses daily. At least some were linked to federal employees using work email addresses who inadvertently revealed their involvement.

Addresses already present

Twitter users can choose to allow others on the service to find them by searching for their email address. In other cases, Twitter notified users who previously shared their online address books using Twitter’s “Find Friends” feature that anonymous accounts were created by federal employees whose work email addresses were already in those address books.

One side effect to the Twitter dispute? Some U.S. government Twitter accounts saw surges in followers.

“We’re thrilled you found us,” said the official account for Biscayne National Park in Florida, “for whatever reason.”
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President Donald Trump has threatened to impose taxes, called tariffs, on goods imported to the United States from Mexico and China.

Governments impose tariffs on imported goods and services to make them more expensive to consumers. Tariffs provide revenue to the government and give a price advantage to domestic producers.

A tariff could mean a foreign-made car or bottle of beer will cost more, so domestic autos or beverages sell better or can command higher prices. This makes domestic companies more competitive with foreign firms and helps them keep or even expand their workforces.

While tariffs protect domestic industries, they do so at the expense of consumers, and at the risk of increasing inflation. Tariffs also hurt foreign producers, who may press their own government to retaliate by imposing tariffs on U.S. goods headed for their home nation.

This kind of tit for tat slows trade by making it more expensive. Reduced trade can also hurt economic growth and employment by lowering demand for goods and services.

Economists say a vicious circle of rising protectionist tariffs and countertariffs slashed international trade by two-thirds during the 1930s, contributing to the Great Depression.
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As the world honored the memory of the millions of people exterminated in the Nazi Holocaust, the United Nations warned Friday that the rise of extremism and hatred could trigger another monstrous act of genocide.

U.N. officials used International Holocaust Remembrance Day to urge nations to be vigilant and to take preventive action against anti-Semitism, xenophobia, racism and anti-Muslim sentiment.

There is anecdotal evidence of an upsurge in those kinds of crimes following the divisive Brexit campaign in the United Kingdom and the presidential campaign in the United States, according to Rupert Colville, spokesman for the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“The kind of social restraints, the cultural restraints, appear to be slipping quite fast, certainly in Europe and possibly the U.S. as well, but also in other parts of the world,” Colville told VOA. “You know you have ethnic-based attacks and religious-based attacks in quite a few countries that are actually leading to deaths and destruction, and so on. So, yeah, it is always a worrying phenomenon and it does appear to be getting worse, at least in some countries.” 

In Washington, President Donald Trump marked the day by issuing a statement saying it is with “a heavy heart and somber mind” that Americans remember the survivors and victims of the Holocaust.

Trump pledged to do everything in his power to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good. In a departure from some of his campaign rhetoric that singled out various ethnic groups for criticism, Trump said his administration, together with others, will work to make love and tolerance prevalent throughout the world.
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President Donald Trump’s tough talk on countering terrorism and U.S. media reports that his administration may be considering reviving a counterterror program that earned worldwide condemnation are increasing European alarm about America’s new leadership.

In London, the pushback has been fierce, complicating British Prime Minister Theresa May’s trip to Washington, where she hopes to begin forging closer ties between post-Brexit Britain and the United States.

Senior members of May’s ruling Conservatives and opposition leaders, as well as influential celebrities, including Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, have criticized Trump’s midweek remarks to CNN that “torture works” in the interrogation of terrorism suspects.

And they have expressed dismay at U.S. media reports suggesting the new administration may be considering reopening secret CIA-run prisons outside the U.S. to handle suspected terrorists. The reports on the possible revival of “black sites” are based on a purported draft executive order suggesting Trump may order a review of how America interrogates suspected terrorists.

The New York Times and Associated Press both reported at midweek that they had copies of the document, which they said was circulating among top administration officials. But White House spokesman Sean Spicer insisted the draft “is not a White House document.'”

He provided no further explanation as to the draft’s provenance or any theory about its authorship. “I have a no idea where it came from,” Spicer told reporters.

The Times, however, reported late Wednesday that it had been told by three unnamed administration officials that the White House circulated the document among National Security Council staff members for review Tuesday morning. Spicer had come under criticism earlier this week for making misleading or transparently false statements from the White House podium.

Heat on May

Andrew Tyrie, a senior Conservative lawmaker in Parliament, has urged May to make it clear when she meets Trump that Britain will not facilitate torture or provide assistance in operating black sites. “When she sees him on Friday, will the prime minister make clear that under no circumstances will she permit Britain to be dragged into facilitating that torture, as we were after September the 11th?” he asked the British leader Wednesday in the House of Commons.

In response, May said, “I can assure my honorable friend that we have a very clear position on torture. We do not sanction torture, we do not get involved with that, and that will continue to be our position.”

“You cannot lead on a global stage by advocating torture,” tweeted Conservative lawmaker Sarah Wollaston.

The leader of Britain’s opposition Labor Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has urged May to “stand up for our country’s values when she meets Donald Trump and oppose his support for torture, which is inhumane, illegal and delivers false intelligence.”

As May left the British capital for the U.S., she insisted she wouldn’t be afraid to speak candidly to Trump on matters where they disagree, pointing out she had criticized remarks he made about women and Muslims.

European leaders have also been quick to stress their opposition to the use of torture techniques or black sites. They have warned any return to the counterterror program run by the administration of Trump’s Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, could disrupt European-American cooperation in the war against terror — including current agreements on data and intelligence sharing.

Legal hurdles

Even if European governments wanted to assist with black sites, analysts say, it would be legally difficult for them to do so.

The European Court of Human Rights has issued several rulings in recent years in cases brought before the court arising from Bush-era European cooperation and cases concerning Guantanamo detainees.

Poland, Italy and Macedonia all have faced legal challenges for participating in the Bush-era High Value Detainee Program run by the CIA, including a European Court of Human Rights ruling that required Poland to pay $262,000 in reparations to two Guantanamo inmates who had been tortured in Poland.

The ECHR rulings, analysts say, would largely prohibit European states from collaborating with a U.S. counterterrorism policy that uses enhanced interrogation techniques or degrading treatment, which the court has labeled torture, or extraordinary rendition, the practice of sending a foreign terrorist suspect covertly to be interrogated in a country with less rigorous regulations for the humane treatment of prisoners.

“While there is a varying degree of compliance with ECHR obligations across the 47 states of the Council of Europe, press and political pressures will mean that states that value and take pride in their respect for human rights will find it difficult politically to cooperate with the Trump administration, should it gain notoriety for torture, or inhumane or degrading treatment,” said Brian Chang, analyst with the University of Oxford’s Parliaments, the Rule of Law and Human Rights Project.

Black sites and extraordinary rendition remain explosive issues for European governments, which were burned in a political backlash when their cooperation with the High Value Detainee Program became known publicly. Ministers in the government of then-Prime Minister Tony Blair, including Jack Straw, who as home secretary signed off on several renditions, are still being sued in British courts for their participation in the CIA’s past detention and interrogation programs.

French, Spanish cases

French and Spanish courts are also pursuing cases. Earlier this year, General Geoffrey Miller, former commander of U.S. forces at Guantanamo Bay, ignored a subpoena from a French court that is hearing a case brought by Guantanamo detainee and French citizen Mourad Benchellali.

The Bush administration sanctioned the use of torture in the aftermath of 9/11. While it stopped soon after that, it was only when Barack Obama became president in 2009 that a formal ban on enhanced interrogation was announced.

Starting in 2006, the Council of Europe launched a series of inquiries to determine what secret detention facilities the CIA operated in Europe. A European Parliament committee also investigated that issue but was unable to get far, prompting the European Parliament last year to condemn obstacles member governments placed in the path of investigators.

The European Parliament named Lithuania, Poland, Italy and the United Kingdom as countries complicit in the CIA’s Bush-era operations. A U.S. Senate report on torture made public in 2014 said that Poland’s former president, Aleksander Kwasniewski, signed off on a CIA black site in his country.
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As President Donald Trump rolled out a series of executive orders this week aimed at stepping up enforcement of immigration laws, a draft of another anticipated set of changes targeting foreigners began circulating in the media.

If signed as is, the presidential edict would gut the U.S. refugee program and halt entry to the U.S. for nationals from seven countries.

Several media outlets, including The Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times, have reported details of the changes obtained by their reporters. It was unclear how the reported changes would compare with the final executive order, but most of the policy points contained in the draft hew closely to Trump’s campaign rhetoric and stated positions.

They would affect immigrants, visitors and refugees from majority-Muslim countries, with the aim — as the title of the executive order describes — of “Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals.”

Albright alleges bias

In a call with reporters and members of the refugee resettlement community Thursday afternoon, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said the order would be “one of the worst things that has happened in a very long time as far as United States values are concerned,” adding that there is “no question this order is biased against Muslims.”

A version of the draft published online by the Times indicates the executive order, which the White House indicated might be signed this week, intends to:

— Suspend immigration and travel to the U.S. for nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen for 30 days.

— Institute a 120-day ban on refugee admissions, but allow certain exemptions for refugees of minority religions in their home countries.

— Cut the refugee ceiling for the current fiscal year from 110,000 to 50,000.

— Ban Syrian refugees indefinitely.

— Create “safe zones” in Syria and the “surrounding region” for displaced persons and refugees.

— Implement a biometric entry-exit system for travelers to the U.S.

— Suspend the Visa Interview Waiver Program and require in-person interviews for all nonimmigrant visas.

— Require the Department of Homeland Security to publish a report every six months on “foreign-born individuals” who have been “radicalized,” commit acts of gender-based violence, or are charged with or convicted of terror-related offenses.

Timing unclear

How and when such policies would be implemented remained unclear. Refugee resettlement agencies in the U.S. had ramped up personnel in expectation of the ceiling established by the administration of President Barack Obama in September; those who work with refugees who have already arrived in the U.S. say their clients are concerned that family members will now be denied.

About 32,000 refugees have arrived since the beginning of the fiscal year on October 1.

Lavinia Limon, who heads the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, said that in decades of working on refugee issues, “we’ve seen a lot of nonsense come and go.”

“We presume we will see this go at some point,” Limon added. “In the meantime, it’s demoralizing.”
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The U.S. Justice Department says a federal district court in New York has sentenced a man convicted of terrorism charges to 20 years in prison and 50 years of supervised release.

The Justice Department said Thursday that Emanuel Lutchman, 26, received his sentence for conspiring to provide material support to Islamic State. The group is a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Mary McCord, acting assistant attorney general for National Security, said Lutchman “conspired with an ISIL [Islamic State] member located overseas and planned to kill innocent civilians on U.S. soil in the name of the terrorist organization.”

The defendant “was in direct personal communication with an individual who was an external attack planner and influential recruiter for ISIL in Syria,” acting U.S. Attorney James Kennedy said.

Court documents name the Syrian contact as Abu Issa Al-Amriki, a known IS leader who is now deceased but was communicating with Lutchman in 2015, according to Lutchman.

Lutchman has admitted to conspiring with Al-Amriki in 2015 to conduct an attack against civilians using knives and a machete on January 31 of that year.

Lutchman said he planned to conduct an attack that could be claimed by the terrorist group in order to gain membership in the organization.

Court documents say Lutchman posted support for the group on social media, including images, videos and documents related to Islamic State and violent jihad, or holy war.

Documents also said Lutchman downloaded and watched terrorism videos and maintained a digital collection of terrorism-related documents, including those meant to provide guidance to would-be terrorists plotting so-called “lone wolf” attacks in the United States or elsewhere.

Documents say Lutchman initiated contact with Al-Amriki on Dec. 25, 2015, and agreed in subsequent communications to attack and kill as many people as possible in a U.S.-based attack.

Lutchman then made contact with three other individuals affiliated with the FBI who were posing as fellow would-be terrorists, to whom Lutchman admitted his intentions and from whom he solicited support.

Lutchman has admitted that with his contacts, he identified a location in Rochester, New York, as a target; obtained weapons and supplies, and discussed making a video that Islamic State could use after the attack to prove his allegiance.

After Lutchman made the video, he was arrested by law enforcement officials and the weapons and supplies were confiscated. He has been in federal custody since Dec. 30, 2015.
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At least 12 Haitian migrants drowned in the Turks and Caicos Islands after their small and crowded boat capsized near the British Caribbean territory, officials said Wednesday.

The majority of victims were female and were found near the northwest point of Providenciales island, police spokesman Keith Clarke told The Associated Press.

The boat was carrying 69 people, and officials said the U.S. Coast Guard is helping with an ongoing search for possible survivors.

“This is a tragic incident with significant loss of life,” said Police Commissioner James Smith, who extended condolences to the victim’s families.

Police said in a statement that they arrested a 23-year-old Haitian man who told them the single-engine boat left Haiti’s north coast Sunday and was carrying 50 men and 19 women. He said he swam to land after the boat struck a rock near the Turks and Caicos Islands early Tuesday and began to sink, police said.

Authorities said an unknown number of migrants made it to land.

The Turks & Caicos Islands are located between Haiti and the Bahamas and have long been a destination and smuggling route for Haitian migrants. Newly elected Turks and Caicos Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinson pledged to crack down on the practice.

“Whilst we are saddened at this great loss of human life, measures must be put in place to protect persons from themselves, potential victims from human traffickers and our borders from breaches by illegal entrants,” she said. “Firm policy positions will be taken and strict enforcement of the laws of these lands will follow.”
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A Cuban trade delegation arrived in the United States this week to visit four states and six ports, even as the Trump administration pondered what to do with a fragile detente initiated by its predecessor.

President Donald Trump has threatened to scrap the move to normalize relations between Washington and Havana, one of former President Barack Obama’s signature foreign policy initiatives, if he doesn’t get “a better deal.”

Port authorities along the U.S. southern coast are strong proponents of increased trade and travel with Cuba, and some have expressed interest in using Mariel, on the northwest coast of the Caribbean island, as a transshipment hub.

“We’re hopeful that when the Trump administration conducts a thorough review of U.S.-Cuba policy, they will see how enhanced cooperation between our port terminals and the Port of Mariel would be very beneficial to U.S. export industries [and] U.S. ports with access to Mariel’s shipping lanes, and could create jobs across the country,” said James Williams, president of the Engage Cuba coalition, which helped facilitate the trip.

Delegations from the ports of Houston; New Orleans; Norfolk, Virginia; and Port Everglades, Palm Beach and Tampa in Florida have already visited Mariel, often with top local and state executives.

“For states with port facilities, there is substantial political and commercial interest,” said John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, which has followed business ties between the two countries for two decades.

“Ports are under the authorities of states, counties and cities, which means governors and mayors seeking value for their respective constituencies and seeking votes,” Kavulich said.

Seeking to reverse more than 50 years of U.S. efforts to force communist Cuba to change by isolating it, Obama agreed with Cuban President Raul Castro in December 2014 to work to normalize relations. Since then, the two countries have restored diplomatic ties and signed various cooperation agreements.

Obama, a Democrat, used executive orders to circumvent the long-standing U.S. trade embargo on Cuba and ease some restrictions on travel and business. The embargo can be lifted only by the U.S. Congress, which is controlled by Republicans.

Trump, who can reverse Obama’s executive orders, has threatened to end the detente if Cuba does not make further political and other concessions, although the Republican businessman-turned-politician has not specified what these should be.

The Cuban delegation, which includes top executives from the new container terminal and special development zone at Mariel and officials involved with cruise ships and investment and trade, is expected to sign nonbinding cooperation agreements with some of the ports, meet with local businesses and visit Washington on January 31.

The Cubans were in New Orleans on Wednesday, after visiting Texas earlier in the week, and will travel next to Port Everglades for a meeting with cruise line executives.

Cuba has avoided criticizing Trump since he took office Friday, and state-run media downplayed Saturday’s protests against him in Washington and around the world.

Havana hotels and restaurants are full of U.S. travelers, and cruise ships now crisscross Havana Bay almost daily.

“We are all waiting. We don’t know what to expect from Trump — a hit on the head or a shake of the hand,” said tour guide Paulo Perez, waiting for a group of Americans at the famed Hotel Nacional in Havana.
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The United Nations could face severe financial cuts if the Trump administration follows through with action envisioned by the White House, according to media reports late Wednesday.

The New York Times on Wednesday said it had obtained two draft orders relating to potential action by President Donald Trump. One of the drafts would terminate U.S. funding of any U.N.-affiliated agency that allows full membership for the Palestinian Authority, funds abortions, or circumvents economic sanctions against Iran or North Korea.

The newspaper reported the draft also calls for “at least a 40 percent overall decrease” in remaining U.S. funding toward international organizations.

A second draft order calls for a review of multilateral treaties, which could include the multinational agreement with Iran to end its nuclear-weapons development activities, which Trump has denounced in the past as a “terrible” arrangement. The second draft presidential order also could refer to the Paris accord on measures to control climate change, which the president also has criticized.

Nikki Haley, the newly confirmed American ambassador to the United Nations, said during her confirmation hearings that she believes the United States has been making “disproportionate” — or excessive — contributions to support U.N. activities and programs. Haley asked whether the U.S. is “getting what we pay for.”

The Fox Business news website also reported Wednesday that the U.N. might be the Trump administration’s next target. Six Republican congressmen in early January sponsored a bill that would end U.S. membership in the United Nations altogether, the website reported, but that bill is not expected to win approval.

The United States pays 22 percent of the U.N.’s regular budget and an additional 28 percent toward peacekeeping missions. The U.N. general budget for 2016-2017 is roughly $5.5 billion; for peacekeeping missions, about $8 billion.

Other presidential orders

White House officials announced several new presidential orders Wednesday, including a directive to federal agencies to prepare to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and another strengthening restrictions against illegal immigration. There also are expectations that the president will soon announce a temporary ban on allowing refugees from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen to enter the United States.

The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said it was aware of the U.S.-Mexican border issue and would “closely follow the impact” of any wall-building program on people seeking refuge in the United States.

“At a time of enormous needs for the protection of refugees,” a UNHCR statement said, “we hope that the U.S. will continue its strong leadership role and long tradition of protecting those who are fleeing conflict and persecution.”

Trump signed an order Tuesday prohibiting the U.S. government from providing funds to any American groups that provide abortions abroad or distribute information about abortions to foreign audiences.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) provides access to reproductive health care in developing countries and could be affected by this order.

Dujarric said UNFPA did not currently think it would be directly affected by the order. It could impact some work done by international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Dujarric added, “But obviously they are still going through the possible impact.”

Margaret Besheer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
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