CNN steps on yet another rake trying to snoop into Elon's security clearance

Comedy News Network Staff?

CNN got a fantastic response to its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking information about Elon Musk's government security clearance: "Good luck with that." Seriously, that was the response.

The Comedy News Network staffers submitted the request to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) "for records related to the security clearances of Musk and anyone from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) who has been granted access to sensitive or classified government networks." 

The reply was delicious: “Good luck with that, they just fired the whole privacy team."

CNN submitted a FOIA request for records related to the security clearances of Musk & DOGE personnel granted access to classified/secure networks.

“Good luck with that, they just fired the whole privacy team,” an OPM email address responded.https://t.co/8vCdQIPA0L— Haley Britzky (@halbritz) February 18, 2025

It seems as if DOGE just told some OPM staffers, some who deal with "privacy" issues, like security clearances, that they were no longer needed at the agency going forward.

Really bad timing for CNN, although they had to admit that not everyone on the privacy team was fired, and that some of the staff who were, would remain aboard until April 15.

CNN is hemorrhaging viewers and were hoping for a "scoop." It turns out that Elon's security clearance wasn't going to it and while CNN used to be known for its deep-diving reporting, they missed the fact that Elon spoke about his clearance last week. 

What can we expect from a network when one of their star reporters loves Luigi Mangione, the guy who cowardly shot and killed CEO of UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson?

Of course Musk would have a top secret clearance since he's the guy who works closely with the U.S. military, intelligence communities and builds big, beautiful rockets that can land back on Earth between a pair of giant chopsticks.

Meanwhile,  CNN has no right at all to snoop into Musk's clearance status via FOIA request because releasing such information is against the country's national security interests.

The Department of Justice position on this is quite clear:

FOIA Exemption 1 (5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(1)) – This exemption protects information that is classified under Executive Order 13526 (or its successors) for national security reasons. Security clearance information often falls under this exemption because it involves classified material.

FOIA Exemption 3 (5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3)) – This exemption protects information that is specifically restricted from disclosure by other statutes. Security clearance details may be shielded under laws such as:50 U.S.C. § 3024(i)(1) – Prohibits disclosure of intelligence sources and methods, which often relate to security clearances.
Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a) – Protects personal records, including an individual's security clearance status.

FOIA Exemption 6 (5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6)) – Protects personal privacy by preventing the disclosure of information that would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Security clearance status is considered personal information.

FOIA Exemption 7 (5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)) – Protects records compiled for law enforcement purposes, including background investigations related to security clearances.

It is no wonder that nobody takes the legacy media seriously anymore. Now CNN knows what it's like to have their FOIA requests denied like conservative outlets had under Democrat administrations.

Tweet

Israel top secret attack plan leaker revealed: works for Lloyd Austin

It was discovered that an Iranian-American, director of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Special Operations is the spy, or mole, who leaked Top Secret Pentagon documents regarding Israel's plans to strike Iran: her name is Ariana Tabatabai and she works in Lloyd Austin's office.

This information by the source, an official of the US Department of Defense, was revealed to the Emirati broadcaster “Sky News Arabia.” 

It is becoming crystal clear that the Democratic Party sucks at vetting people, especially when it comes to evaluating them for sensitive positions that impacts on security. Even if it turns out that Tabatabai isn't the mole, it's obvious our government is incompetent.

The source explained that the Congressional intelligence and military committees were informed of the matter, especially because the suspect has a “high-level secret clearance that gives her access to highly classified information.”

Meanwhile, the FBI has opened an investigation into the anti-Israel leak. A spokesperson told “Axios” that the agency has launched an investigation and is working “closely” with the Pentagon and intelligence services. And chickens have lips, if you believe any real justice will come from the investigation.

Several US officials interviewed by Axios said that the Biden administration has stressed to the Israeli authorities that it is “taking this matter very seriously, and that it will take steps to ensure that something like this never happens again.” 

The documents are dated October 15 and 16 and began circulating online last Friday, after being published on Telegram by the account of “Middle East Spectator.”

We shall see how this ends, but don't hold your collective breath.

Tweet

Docs found in Biden's office contained "Top Secret" material

Look, look, look, man, I mean it.

 CBS News reports that documents found at so called President Joe Biden's private office contained “top secret” materials. 

Federal law enforcement told the network of the top-secret information within the ten classified documents that were already recovered  from Biden's vice presidential office at Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C. The details of the material has not been shared but it doesn't sound good for the Big Guy.

According to CNN, the classified documents found at Biden's private academic office along with unclassified documents, contained U.S. intelligence memos and briefings on Ukraine, Iran, and the United Kingdom. The office was used by Biden while he was an honorary professor for the University of Pennsylvania from 2017 to 2019, after leaving the vice presidency and prior to him somehow getting elected President.

Top-secret information is the highest level of security classification in the U. S. and unauthorized disclosure of this kind of material could cause “exceptionally grave damage to the national security,” according to Cornell Law School.

CBS News has learned that the classified documents recovered from the Penn Biden Center and President Biden’s Delaware home number roughly 20 and include materials marked “Top Secret.” Meanwhile, the White House continues to struggle to answer any questions. pic.twitter.com/4F9DgFYhhp

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews)

Biden’s obvious mishandling of documents is under investigation by the Justice Department. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday he appointed former U.S. Attorney Robert Hur as special counsel to take over the inquiry started by U.S. Attorney John Lausch. In addition, House Republicans began investigations into the festering Biden scandal.

Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, said Biden's personal attorneys were removed from the office when they discovered the first tranche of documents on November 2, days before the midterm elections, and they immediately notified the National Archives. The existence of the records were not known publicly until this week when media reports revealed the existence of a DOJ review.

A second batch of classified documents were later found in Biden's Wilmington, DE home dating back to his vice presidency. And then on Saturday, the White House announced even more classified material was found there than was previously known.

Sauber said one document was found in a room adjacent to the garage on Wednesday, but lawyers stopped their search because they lacked security clearances. Sauber said he has the proper clearance and arrived at the home on Thursday to continue the search. “While I was transferring it to the DOJ officials who accompanied me, five additional pages with classification markings were discovered among the material with it, for a total of six pages,” Sauber said. “The DOJ officials with me immediately took possession of them.”

Biden earlier told reporters he was “surprised” to learn about the classified documents discovery, and claimed he did not know what was in the records. This might be true as Biden wouldn't remember if he read them and if he did, it's likely the information went over his head.

He says he takes classified documents "seriously," but do you really believe that?

Sauber says the White House is “fully cooperating” with the National Archives and the Justice Department because they have no choice.

Tweet

Leaker Nabbed!

They finally made some headway in the Russian hacking efforts. A federal contractor was arrested over the weekend--she is accused of leaking a top secret intelligence report on Russian hacking efforts during the presidential campaign last year.

Reality Leigh Winner, 25, appeared in federal court in Augusta, GA. She is facing the reality of one charge of removing classified material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet, the Justice Department said.

Winner's arrest was announced soon after the Intercept website published a story on Russian hackers attempting to penetrate computers belonging to over 100 local election sites. The story cites an NSA report that claims the hacking efforts were masterminded by Russia's military intelligence unit known as the GRU.

Although the DoJ didn't specify that Winner was being charged in connection with the Intercept's report, the site noted that the NSA report cited in its story was dated May 5 while the affidavit supporting Winner's arrest stated that the report was dated "on or about" May 5. 

Coincidence? Not likely.

According to The Washington Examiner Winner worked for Pluribus International Corporation assigned to a U.S. government facility in Georgia. (The Georgia down south in the U.S.A., not Russia's Georgia.)

She held a top-secret classified security clearance, which goes to show us that they're as easy to get as an Obama phone.

Then there's always the usual suspects like WikiLeaks' Julian Assange who said that must be supported. "She is a young woman accused of courage in trying to help us know," Assange stupidly said.

No, she is a young woman accused of violating the Espionage Act and being a traitor, and not all information should be made public for national security purposes, you freaking idiot.

View image on Twitter

 Follow

Julian Assange @JulianAssange

Alleged NSA whistleblower Reality Leigh Winner must be supported. She is a young women accused of courage in trying to help us know.

8:39 PM - 5 Jun 2017

 
•  753753 Retweets
 
•  1,4911,491 likes

Prosecutors said the young Loser admitted to printing off a copy of the NSA report and sending it to an "online news outlet." The outlet contacted federal authorities and it was determined the information had been illicitly leaked.

Winner (her name is an oxymoron) was identified as the leaker after investigators determined that she was one of six people to print the report off her computer (not very bright) and the only one of the six to have contact with the news outlet.


The alleged violator of the Espionage Act was home when questioned Saturday. She admitted that she was aware of the contents of the report and that "the contents of the reporting could be used to the injury of the United States and to the advantage of a foreign nation.

It looks like Reality needs a reality check and a change of her last name.




Tweet

Emails so secret, only our enemies likely saw them

Fox News has just learned exclusively that the intelligence community has categorized Hillary Clinton's emails as "too damaging" to national security to release under any circumstances. This was reported to them by a U.S. government official close to the review and corroborated by another source.

The fact that the government refuses to release even redacted emails flies in the face of Clinton's claim that none of them were classified when they reached her private server. These emails include "special access programs" (SAP) which are more highly classified than "Top Secret."

SAP information includes ongoing intelligence operations in the field, where agents would be compromised and in danger if the emails were hacked by an enemy government. 

But the chances of that actually happening are only about 95%.

Earlier this month, intelligence community Inspector General I. Charles McCullough III wrote a letter notifying senior intelligence and foreign relations committee leaders that "several dozen emails containing classified information" were categorized "at the CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET, AND TOP SECRET/SAP levels."

Inspector General I. Charles McCullough III was appointed by Barack Obama, so how politically motivated against Clinton could it be?

Of course, even the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) cannot allow highly classified material to be made public, for national security purposes, of course, and the DoJ FOIA website points this out in exemption B3, where it addresses the exemption of "operational files." The kind of information that can get our people killed.

Hillary Clinton obviously lying and the mere fact that she used a private server at all should be enough to indict her. But will it actually happen? Will Loretta Lynch, Obama's hand-picked DoJ head, really do what's right?

Please feel free to comment and let me know what you believe.


Tweet

So secret, only her hairdresser knows, and maybe Russia

Hillary Clinton believes the American people are stupid. Insofar as the people who still love her and would vote for her are concerned, she's correct--they either don't care what she has done, don't want to believe it, or are totally ignorant.

It is now known that some of Hillary's emails on her Colorado-based bathroom server are so secret that the senior lawmakers who oversee the State Department do not have a security clearance high enough to be allowed to view them. In order to see them, these lawmakers would need to fulfill additional security requirements, such as signing non disclosure agreements.

(Wouldn't it be nice if all refugees/asylum seekers also had to fulfill additional security measures?)

The emails in question, "special access programs" (SAP) were discussed by me here and are a level beyond "top secret" because of the incredible sensitivity of the information they contain. 

For example, the documents might contain actual names of CIA field operators and the like. It could get them killed in the hands of our enemies. 

Even the senior members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are not authorized access to these emails, but the Colorado company could have read them if nobody was watching, and so could hackers like Russia, China, North Korea and just about every Islamic country on the globe.

Hillary Clinton can try to misdirect us by saying she never sent or received any emails "marked classified," but CLASSIFIED EMAILS AREN'T MARKED CLASSIFIED--THEY ARE CLASSIFIED BASED ON THEIR CONTENT!

Now Clinton claims all of this is politically motivated. Even if it was, she still used a private server and still sent and received high-level classified material. And she even went so far as to coach another official on how to get around the problem of using a private email that has classified information on it.

If it's political, so what? It's still a crime and she clearly committed the crime on some level just by using the private server. 

But if anyone believes that this is all Clinton is guilty of, they might be a blazing liberal. You know the type: a person who can watch a partial birth abortion on YouTube and feel sorry for the mother who had to put up with the unwanted pregnancy perpetrated on her by her jobless boyfriend.


Tweet

Hillary's rich, white privilege may get "SAP-ed"

In an exclusive report by FoxNews.com, the emails on Hillary Clinton's Colorado bathroom-based private server contained intelligence from the U.S. government's most secretive and highly classified programs. This information comes from an unclassified letter by a highly ranked inspector general to senior lawmakers.

The January 14th letter from Intelligence Community Inspector General I. Charles McCullough III enumerated the findings of a comprehensive review by intelligence agencies in which "several dozen" additional classified emails, including specific intelligence known as "special access programs" (SAP) were identified. 

The SAP classification goes well beyond "top secret," which have already been labeled as such on at least two of her emails, and it makes one wonder, how much more evidence of blatant mishandling of highly classified material will it take before she's indicted. 

"There is absolutely no way that one could not recognize SAP material," a former senior law enforcement source with decades of investigating SAP procedures told Fox News. "It is the most sensitive of the sensitive."

The IG letter states, in part: "To date, I have received two sworn declarations from one [intelligence community] element. These declarations cover several dozen emails containing classified information determined by the IC element to be at the confidential, secret, and top secret/sap levels. According to the declarant, these documents contain informatin derived from classified IC element sources."

Only "the president, the Secretaries of State, Defense, Energy, and Homeland Security, the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence, or the principal deputy of each" can authorize special access programs, states Executive Order 13526. 

Clearly, if Hillary Rodham Clinton was a poor, black person, instead of a rich, white woman, she'd be in an orange jumpsuit by now.



Tweet

Hillary's emails confirmed top secret by FBI: what difference does it make?

We now know that there were two "top secret" emails on Hillary Clinton's personal water closet server, according to an exclusive report by Catherine Herridge of  Fox News. Both were top secret when she received them and one has since been downgraded to a lower secret level as more information became publicly known.

The sources who spoke with Herridge described the controversy regarding whether both emails were classified at the highest level as a "settled matter." 

The original sources of the emails that owned the classification are the CIA and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). These agencies reviewed the emails to determine how they are to be stored, in spite of the State Department's discontent of the classification they received. 

Boo-freaking-hoo, State Department--you don't get to make the call.

According to Fox News, the subject matter of the messages is allegedly about the movement of North Korean missiles and a drone strike. Top secret designation requires the highest level of security and may include the use of a government approved safe to store it, because anything designated "top secret" has the potential to cause harm to the nation if it fell into the hands of our enemies.

Clinton did not care about that little fact.

The State Department has been given the findings but they continue to challenge the intelligence community's conclusions about the email classifications. In spite of their whining, they have no authority to change the classification because they did not originate the information--only the agency that "borns" the information has the authority to classify it.

Now it's up to the FBI to conclude if Clinton is charged with a criminal violation. I doubt they will, however, as Hillary seems to get away with murder all the time.


Tweet