A lot of libs were furious that Republican took their cell phones into the SCIF yesterday when they protested Dems and their closed impeachment hearing. For example:
I’ve been in SCIFs a lot. The stupidest thing someone can do is bring an electronic device. You would lose your security clearance +may even face criminal prosecution. If these reports are accurate, those remedies should be looked at.Foreign govts want to target SCIF all the time https://t.co/y8DlS9nLSl
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) October 23, 2019
And we’re pretty close to “lock them up!”:
Reminder: a young Navy sailor was prosecuted and convicted for taking photos in the classified areas of a submarine.@RepAlexMooney tried to livestream his entrance into a SCIF. https://t.co/MC1BuTrlgn
— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) October 23, 2019
But Susan Hennessey, who was an IC attorney during the Obama administration and is currently an analyst with CNN, is telling everyone to, in summary, calm down.
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The Republicans stunt in House SCIF is ugly and silly and problematic for lots of reasons. But I think people are overstating the actual security compromise. When police say they are doing a "sweep," they are making sure there aren't any phones or recording devices left behind.
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) October 23, 2019
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But it isn't like bringing a phone into the room and then out of the room compromises the ongoing integrity of a secured facility. It only matters if classified information is discussed while an unsecured device is present. People bring phones into SCIFs by accident all the time.
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) October 23, 2019
My point is there is tons to criticize here including the disregard for security rules. But I'm seeing some suggestion that this somehow means the SCIF is decertified or unsecure moving forward and that just isn't how it works.
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) October 23, 2019
Sorry, Dems. Cancel the national security emergency.
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