Free Republic

At the worst possible time, when the United States is at its most vulnerable — during a presidential transition and a devastating public health crisis — the networks of the federal government and much of corporate America are compromised by a foreign nation. We need to understand the scale and significance of what is happening. Last week, the cybersecurity firm FireEye said it had been hacked and that its clients, which include the United States government, had been placed at risk. This week, we learned that SolarWinds, a publicly traded company that provides software to tens of thousands of government...

A top National Security Council (NSC) official was forced to leave the group on Thursday, the most recent departure since national security adviser John Bolton joined the administration earlier this ear, Politico reported Friday. Jennifer Arangio, a senior director in NSC who worked with global groups, was escorted off White House premises and told that she was no longer needed at the administration, according to Politico. A NSC spokesman told Politico that the group doesn’t comment on personnel issues, and Arangio and didn’t return the publication’s request for comment. A former White House official told Politico that Arangio is “fiercely...

A review launched by Attorney General William Barr into the origins of the Russia investigation has expanded significantly amid concerns about whether the probe has any legal or factual basis, multiple current and former officials told NBC News. The prosecutor conducting the review, Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham, has expressed his intent to interview a number of current and former intelligence officials involved in examining Russia’s effort to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, including former CIA Director John Brennan and former director of national intelligence James Clapper, Brennan told NBC News. Durham has also requested to talk to CIA...

President Trump’s top homeland security aide, Tom Bossert, is resigning, the White House said on Tuesday. "The President is grateful for Tom's commitment to the safety and security of our great country,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. “Tom led the White House's efforts to protect the homeland from terrorist threats, strengthen our cyber defenses, and respond to an unprecedented series of natural disasters. President Trump thanks him for his patriotic service and wishes him well.”

White House Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert said Friday that with Hurricane Harvey - predicted to be the most powerful storm to hit the U.S. in more than a decade - set to hit Texas and possibly Louisiana, residents should not “lose faith” in government. Bossert cautioned, however, not to plan for the federal government to “swoop in and provide everything” that residents need when they need it. He said while the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA “are responsible for bringing together the firepower of the federal government to assist the state and local governments,” state and local governments...

A top White House security official delivered a stiff warning to leakers of classified materials, calling them “enemies” of the United States. Thomas Bossert, President Donald Trump’s assistant on homeland security and counterterrorism, said the administration would have “no tolerance” for anyone leaking materials from the inside for any reason. “We need to find the people who do it and hold them accountable, and be absolutely unwavering in doing so,” he told a security conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Smart pick. Tom Bossert brings a 21st century cybersecurity profile to Trump’s inner National Security team. Bossert has deep knowledge of cybersecurity from both a Homeland Defense (infrastructure), and a counterterrorism perspective. President-elect Donald J. Trump today announced his selection of Thomas P. Bossert to serve as Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism. In this position, Mr. Bossert will advise the President on issues related to homeland security, counterterrorism, and cybersecurity, and coordinate the Cabinet’s process for formulating and executing policy in these matters.