In the News
On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that President Trump often uses an unmodified, personal iPhone to communicate with friends and confidants as well as two other iPhones that had been modified by the National Security Agency. According to anonymous White House officials interviewed by the Times, Trump has been repeatedly warned that the calls he makes on these devices are not secure and that "Chinese spies are often listening."
Chinese and Russian spies are regularly eavesdropping on President Trump's cellphone calls, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
The killing of Jamal Khashoggi has reverberated throughout the United States political establishment, with politicians on both sides of the political divide expressing their dismay over the Saudi journalist's confirmed death.
More than 60% of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' land-use agreements on its West Los Angeles campus are illegal or improper, a federal audit found, including leases for a Los Angeles city dog park and ballfields, Red Cross offices, a Shakespeare festival, a parrot sanctuary and the private Brentwood School.
Too many bills in Congress have boring, easily forgettable names. But when Rep. Ted Lieu introduced an anti-corruption bill last week, he chose a catchy title: The E. Scott Pruitt Accountability for Government Officials Act of 2018.
The bill, "honoring" the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, makes it illegal for senior government officials to use public office for private gain. Not slap-on-the-wrist illegal. Up to five years in prison illegal.
Lawmakers last week moved closer to mandating that the Department of Homeland Security start a bug bounty program that will pay computer security researchers to spot weaknesses in DHS's computer networks. That requirement would bring the department in line with other U.S. agencies with similar cybersecurity programs.
A group of House Democrats and a Senate Democrat introduced a bill Tuesday that would ban the Trump administration's plans for a so-called low-yield nuclear weapon.
The Trump administration's certification Wednesday that Saudi Arabia and its allies are taking steps to protect civilian lives in Yemen drew an avalanche of denunciations from Congress and human rights groups, which called the claim a "farce" intended to distance the US from mounting civilian casualties.
Lawmakers increased pressure on the Trump administration over the war in Yemen this week after an airstrike killed dozens of children, urging officials to explain and possibly adjust U.S. support for nations waging war against rebels there.
Democratic members of the House and Senate sent three letters in as many days to administration officials, asking for an accounting of U.S. involvement in a conflict critics say has exposed Washington to claims of responsibility for thousands of civilian deaths.
After unnamed sources reported President Trump was again heavily using his personal cell phone, possibly an unsecured Android, a pair of congressional Democrats are asking two Democratic lawmakers are asking the Secret Service, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the White House Communications Agency (WHCA) what steps are being taken to ensure that the president's communications are secure.