Category Archives: Whistleblower

DIA: Ron Rockwell Hansen, Pleads Guilty

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We can’t know the extent of insider threats. The matter of China infecting our intelligence agencies and paying for spying continues.

Frankly, as compared to Jonathan Pollard, 180 months in prison for Hansen is hardly enough. Pollard was released after 30 years but remains on house detention. Pollard aided an steadfast ally, Israel….China is hardly a friendly country to the United States.

Man Who Tried To Spy For China To Face Charges In Utah | KUER 90.1

Anyway….

SALT LAKE CITY – A former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer, taken into federal custody by the FBI in June 2018 as he was preparing to board a flight to China, pleaded guilty Friday afternoon to attempting to communicate, deliver, or transmit information involving the national defense of the United States to the People’s Republic of China.

Ron Rockwell Hansen, 59, a resident of Syracuse, Utah, entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Court Judge Dee Benson in Salt Lake City.  The plea agreement includes a stipulated sentence of 180 months, subject to the approval of the Court. Sentencing in the case is set for Sept. 24, 2019, at 2 p.m.

Hansen pleaded guilty to the lead count of a 15-count indictment returned in June 2018, charging him with attempt to gather or deliver defense information, acting as an agent of a foreign government, bulk cash smuggling, structuring monetary transactions, and smuggling goods from the United States.  Federal prosecutors will ask the Court to dismiss the remaining counts of the indictment at sentencing, however, the plea agreement includes an agreement that relevant conduct can be considered by the Court in determining the reasonableness of the sentence.

Hansen retired from the U.S. Army as a Warrant Officer with a background in signals intelligence and human intelligence.  He speaks fluent Mandarin-Chinese and Russian, according to court documents. Upon retiring from active duty, DIA hired Hansen as a civilian intelligence case officer in 2006. Hansen held a Top Secret clearance for many years, and signed several non-disclosure agreements during his tenure at DIA and as a government contractor.
As Hansen admitted in the plea agreement, in early 2014, agents of a Chinese intelligence service targeted him for recruitment, and he began meeting with them regularly in China.  During these meetings, the agents described to Hansen the type of information that would interest Chinese intelligence.  Hansen stipulated that during the course of his relationship with Chinese intelligence, he received thousands of dollars in compensation for information he provided them.

Between May 24, 2016, and June 2, 2018, Hansen admitted he solicited national security information from an intelligence case officer working for the DIA.  Hansen admitted knowing that the Chinese intelligence services would find the information valuable, and he agreed to act as a conduit to sell that information to the Chinese.  He advised the DIA case officer how to record and transmit classified information without detection, and how to hide and launder any funds received as payment for classified information.  He admitted he now understands that the DIA case officer reported his conduct to the DIA and subsequently acted as a confidential human source for the FBI.

Hansen admitted meeting with the DIA case officer on June 2, 2018, and receiving individual documents containing national defense information that he had previously solicited.  The documents he received were classified. The documents included national security information related to U.S. military readiness in a particular region — information closely held by the federal government. Hansen did not possess a security clearance nor did he possess a need to know the information contained in the materials.

As a part of his plea agreement, Hansen admitted he reviewed the documents, queried the case officer about their contents, and took written notes which contained information determined to be classified.  He advised the DIA case officer that he would remember most of the details about the documents he received that day and would conceal notes about the material in the text of an electronic document he would prepare at the airport before leaving for China.  He admitted he intended to provide the information he received to the agents of the Chinese Intelligence Service with whom he had been meeting.  He also admitted knowing that the information was to be used to the injury of the United States and to the advantage of a foreign nation.

Hansen was arrested June 2, 2018, on his way to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle, Wash., to board a connecting flight to China.

As a part of the plea agreement, Hansen has agreed to forfeit property acquired from or traceable to his offense, including property used to facilitate the crime.

The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert A. Lund, Karin Fojtik, Mark K. Vincent and Alicia Cook of the District of Utah, and Trial Attorneys Patrick T. Murphy, Matthew J. McKenzie and Adam L. Small of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.  Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington assisted with this case.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation by special agents of the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Army Counterintelligence, and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

US Media Compares to Joseph Goebbels’ Operations

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Ah yes….Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda for Nazi, Germany from 1933 to 1945. His job was to only present favorable stories for a positive image of the regime and to spread hate of the Jews. He used radio, literature, music, textbooks, printed posters/newspapers and theater to display the propaganda. He too was responsible for burning books….beginning to sound familiar?

Media and Marxist activist groups in the United States are all pounding the same drumbeat, pro-socialism, parts of stories and holding others that don’t fit the agenda.

Can you count the ways, the methods and the media outlets like the Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC and those pesky websites like Media Matters…..

Well, when Reuters reports on Reuters…..take notice. Senator Cruz took notice.

So, the Reuters backstory goes like this…even their summary is lacking but try it anyway…

(When Reuters held the story, obviously people still have not read it when they did publish it as Beto was able to raise $6.1 million in the first 24 hours of campaign announcement. He beat Bernie and all the other 2020 contenders…..sigh)

Maybe it is just cool to campaign on a restaurant counter.

Jay Ambrose: How Beto O'Rourke could become president ...

Or the he skateboards onto a stage.

Presidential?

(Reuters) – Reuters reporter Joseph Menn exclusively revealed on Friday that Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke belonged to one of the best-known groups of computer hackers as a teenager.

Within minutes, his special report was the most popular story on Reuters.com here and was picked up by other news outlets. But the origin of the story goes back more than two years.

Members of the group, which calls itself Cult of the Dead Cow, protected O’Rourke’s secret for decades, reluctant to compromise the former Texas Congressman’s political career.

After more than a year of reporting, Menn persuaded O’Rourke to talk on the record. In an interview in late 2017, O’Rourke acknowledged that he was a member of the group, on the understanding that the information would not be made public until after his Senate race against Ted Cruz in November 2018.

Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, 46, speaks with supporters during a three day road trip across Iowa, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S., March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Ben Brewer

In an interview with Reuters senior producer Jane Lee, Menn explains how he broke the story and got O’Rourke to open up about his hacking days.

“I decided to write a book about the Cult of the Dead Cow because they were the most interesting and influential hacking group in history. They illustrated a lot of the things that I think are fascinating about hacking and security work.

Focus on Trump’s speech after attack on Muslims

“While I was looking into the Cult of the Dead Cow, I found out that they had a member who was sitting in Congress. I didn’t know which one. But I knew that they had a member of Congress.

“And then I figured out which one it was. And the members of the group wouldn’t talk to me about who it was. They wouldn’t confirm that it was this person unless I promised that I wouldn’t write about it until after the November election. That’s because the member of Congress had decided to run for Senate. Beto O’Rourke is who it was.

“I met Beto O’Rourke. I said ‘I’m writing a book about Cult of the Dead Cow, I think it’s really interesting. I know you were in this group. This book is going to publish after November and your Senate race is over. And he said, ‘OK.’

“And he told me about his time in the Cult of the Dead Cow.”

Menn explains more about the story on Twitter @josephmenn twitter.com/josephmenn

Meet Maduro’s Gang: the Colectivos

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Not only does Maduro while struggling to hold on to power in Venezuela make full use of 25,000 Cuban military forces along with a security team provided by Putin known as the Wagner Group, but Maduro terrorizes his own citizens by deploying his ‘colectivos’.

¿Los llamamos colectivos armados? por @atilanolinares – El ...

Really?

Yes, they are rather like his own armada on motorcycles. And they too patrol the border between Venezuela and Columbia. The colectivos have been around for quite a while, in fact they were salaried going back to the Chavez regime. They have cell or branch operations in and around Caracas. They tell the media and citizens their job is to clean up corruption, enforce laws and to assist the police. Yeah….SURE.

It is likely that the colectivos also coordinate with the FAES, that is supposed to be the Venezuelan police but actually most of them come from the Bolivian government under orders. Nonetheless, all of these groups continue to believe in and carry on the Chavez revolution.

5 Realities Of Reporting The News In A Brutal Dictatorship ...

Negotiating with Maduro to get him to leave power and move to a sunny island as John Bolton suggested hardly means there will be peace after his departure given the marxist/communist operations that will remain. The interim president, Guido with the help of almost 80 countries will hardly have an easy transition to any new government.

The colectivos are not a gang but rather a Maduro/Chavez sanctioned paramilitary unit. They operate in every part of Venezuelan society, including schools, courts, retail stores and in hospitals. They control sports, provide food and humanitarian needs, television and radio and control community centers. Sounds rather like al Qaeda or Islamic State, doesn’t it? Many of the colectivos received training from FARC. That was/is the terror group that Obama and John Kerry negotiated with that was/is based in Columbia. (they still operate today, by the way)

The Venezuelan colectivo known as "La Piedrita" does not hide its admiration for the FARC or Raúl Reyes.

The colectivos have direct access to the government resources including intelligence, money and weapons and tear gas. Many of them work during various shifts for the Maduro and the Bolivian government. Under approval of Maduro, the colectivos deal in the sale and distribution of drugs, gambling and extort anyone they can.

 

 

 

Introducing the Cheollima Civil Defense

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Do you wonder if anyone in North Korea wants to overthrow the Premier Leader, Kim Jong Un? The answer is yes.

What does Madrid, Spain have to do with North Korea? The constant communications channels betwee the United States and North Korea are centered in Madrid, where Kim Hyok Chol, a former ambassador is based. What is not reported is the North Korean embassy in Madrid was raided last month. Eight people inside were beaten and interrogated by a group of alleged thugs just before the Trump Un summit. Embassy employees were gagged and computers along with cell phones were stolen and the attackers apparently sped away from the embassy in diplomatic vehicles. Police did investigate after calls were made to law enforcement.

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Oh yeah, there are many that are aware of this event that are blaming the CIA.

But hold on, let’s go deeper.

The Cheollima Civil Defense operation was launched in 2017. This group is committed to overthrowing lil Kim. They on occasion go by another name, that being Free Joseon. In March of 2017, there was a video uploaded. Allegedly, Kim Han-sol was behind the video due in part to his father being killed in Malaysia in 2017 when 2 women attacked him at the airport, rubbing his face with the VX nerve agent.

Cheollima Civil Defense assists people attempting to defect from North Korea. By the way, the word/term Joseon is the very old historical name for Korea. There has been chatter for more than a year that the South Korea spy agency is behind Cheollima. Furthermore, the group has from time to time coordinated with the Netherlands, China and the United States for helping with security and protection.

It is thought that the leader of Cheollima, Kim Han-sol fled to the Netherlands and continues to operate from there under the local government’s protection. Other family members likely fled North Korea via Taiwan and may also be under Dutch protection.

The intrigue of diplomacy, dissidents and spying.

Chinese Cheating for US Student Visas

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Sheesh, more cheating….and just think of the growing number of Democrats calling for the ICE agency to be abolished. Remember too that California had that whole birthing tourism scandal for foreign Chinese illegals.

Image result for 5 arrested in chinese language scheme california

5 arrested in scheme that hired people to take English proficiency exam on behalf of Chinese nationals seeking student visas

LOS ANGELES – Federal authorities this morning arrested five defendants linked to a scheme that helped Chinese nationals obtain student visas by hiring individuals who used fake Chinese passports to take an English proficiency test for the foreign students.

The arrests were made pursuant to a 26-count indictment returned on Friday by a federal grand jury. The indictment charges the defendants with conspiring to use false passports, using false passports, and aggravated identity theft as part of the scheme to impersonate Chinese nationals who were required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to obtain a student visa.

This case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s Fraud Detection National Security Section. The Educational Testing Service, which administers the TOEFL exam, has provided assistance during the investigation.

“On top of allowing students to cheat their way into our top universities, schemes such as this exploit our nation’s legal immigration system and threaten our national security,” said Joseph Macias, Special Agent in Charge for HSI Los Angeles.  “As this case shows, we will move aggressively to identify and prosecute those who engage in fraud and corrupt the immigration process for profit.”

The five defendants were taken into custody this morning without incident. They are:

  • Liu Cai, 23, of Woodland Hills, who allegedly facilitated the scheme, took at least five TOEFL exams himself and is residing in the United States on a student visa;
  • Quang Cao, 24, of San Francisco, who allegedly took at least four TOEFL exams with false identification, and who was arrested today in Stockton, California;
  • Elric Zhang, 24, of Los Angeles, who allegedly took at least five TOEFL exams as part of the scheme;
  • Mohan Zhang, 24, of Cerritos, who allegedly took at least two TOEFL exams under the names of foreign nationals; and
  • Samantha Wang, 24, of Corona, who allegedly took at least two TOEFL exams.

The four Southern California defendants are expected to be arraigned on the indictment this afternoon in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Cao is expected to make an initial appearance this afternoon in the Eastern District of California.

The sixth defendant in the case – Tuan Tran, 33, who allegedly took at least one TOEFL exam with a false identification document – is believed to be currently residing in Taiwan.

The United States requires foreign citizens who wish to enter the United States on a temporary basis to study at a college or university to first obtain an F-1 student visa. To obtain a student visa, foreign citizens must first apply to study at a school that has been authorized by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to enroll foreign students. In the United States, many SEVP-certified schools require foreign citizens whose first language is not English to certify proficiency in English by achieving a particular score on the TOEFL.

When the foreign national goes to a TOEFL testing location, the test taker must present an original, non-expired, government-issued identification document recognized by their home country. According to the indictment, all six defendants used counterfeit People’s Republic of China passports to impersonate 19 different Chinese nationals at various TOEFL testing locations in and around Los Angeles.

The indictment further alleges that Cai paid for and registered 14 Chinese nationals for TOEFL exams over a one-year period in 2015 and 2016. Following the tests, Cai allegedly paid three co-defendants approximately $400 per test from his PayPal and Venmo accounts.

The conspiracy count in the indictment carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. The charge of using a false passport carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence.

This matter is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Ryan of the General Crimes section.