Infiltration of files seen as extensive

Boston Globe ^ | 1/22/2004 | Charlie Savage

[NortNork]

WASHINGTON -- Republican staff members of the US Senate Judiciary Commitee infiltrated opposition computer files for a year, monitoring secret strategy memos and periodically passing on copies to the media, Senate officials told The Globe.

From the spring of 2002 until at least April 2003, members of the GOP committee staff exploited a computer glitch that allowed them to access restricted Democratic communications without a password. Trolling through hundreds of memos, they were able to read talking points and accounts of private meetings discussing which judicial nominees Democrats would fight -- and with what tactics.

[joyce11111]

OOPSIE DAISY

[monkeywrench]

Did they ever complete their investiagtion into the 900 FBI files pilfered by hillary?

[pabianice]

Strange... not one word about the 900 FBI files on their opponents the Clintons pilfered and for which they were never punished... could The Boston Fishwrap be... dare I say it? ... biased??

[NutCrackerBoy]

... bypassing a Democratic filibuster that blocked a vote on his nomination for a year because of concerns over his civil rights record -Charlie Savage, Boston Globe

It is a travesty to keep repeating this lie. Perhaps if they said "trumped-up" concerns, or mentioned that the Mississippi NAACP endorsed Pickering.

[Ichneumon]

This is obviously criminal -- it's criminal that staffers had access to inside Democrat strategy memos and *still* got blindsided on everything so badly.

[sheik yerbouty]

Is that like the secret taping of legislators that Willie Brown was said to have masterminded in Sacremento?

[Shanty Shaker]

Pwned. Do we want people who can't secure a computer network running a country???? It is a travesty that such memos are even written on computer systems owned and paid for by taxpayers.

[M Kehoe]

Charlie Savage didn't mention if any laws were broken. If there weren't any violations of criminal law, then my hat is off to the GOP operatives (hehehe).

Although my hunch is that the stuff in the newspapers was probably leaked by a democRAT staffer. Same with this Plame-Wilson charade.

5.56mm

[herzo]

Unfortunately, someone forgot two of the basic rules of intelligence gathering - (1) limit access and (2)do not use the information in a manner that it's origin can be identified. Had they been careful, they could have had a "back door" into the dim's plans for quite a while.

[Michael Barnes]

< devils advocate>

Just wondering if those supposed files I am hearing about were put out there on purpouse.

< /devils advocate>

[Paladin2]

Think of them as the Pentagon Papers.

They need to be released to the public so we can (try) to understand the decision and thinking processes.

[Paladin2]

Does the DMCA apply?

[unixfox]

Woopsie Doodle !!

[Paladin2]

Is this a problem with M$, with that threat to National Security, commie, pinko Linux (as so recently, patriotically pointed out by Darl and his brother Daryl of SCO), or some Congressional roll your own software?

What, software security problems? Software privacy trouble? Here? In the U.S.? Where our legislators are always so conscientiously protecting us, the private citizens? I'm shocked!

[Brilliant]

If this is true, then the Republicans sure did blow a golden opportunity. They've been bumbling around aimlessly for 2 years. You'd think with information like that, they'd actually use it to their advantage.

[ThirstyMan]

My thoughts too. If they had information regarding the Dems tactics for filibustering nominees it did them absolutely no good. For ex. where's Miguel Estrada today?
My inclination is that there is nothing of substance here.

[Kaslin]

I was just going to post the article but then I noticed you had already posted it and I noticed it was also alredy posted here by Seamole

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1062769/posts

[Kaslin]

Note to self. Spell check

alredy=already

[gimmesometruth2000]

Where did you get the information that "that the Mississippi NAACP endorsed Pickering"?

That conflicts with this statement from the head of the NAACP declaring "absolute opposition":

From the March 6, 2002 NAACP News: New York - “Kweisi Mfume, President & CEO, of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) said today that the Association stands firm in its absolute opposition to the confirmation of Judge Charles Pickering to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at a press conference held here during the Annual Meeting“.